Hell, aka French Class
by Lady Saruman
Summary: Emmett Cullen meets Rosalie Hale in French. Emmett is the first guy Rosalie has ever met who doesn’t immediately throw himself on her. Rather, she’s the one crushing on him first. When they finally give in to their wants, deep passion & love arise. AU/AH
1. NOT Love Struck

**Disclaimer: Once again, these characters are not mine. They're **_**Stephenie Meyer's.**_** Only the plot is mine. But even then, some parts are still based on the book.**

**Okay, so most of the story will be written in Emmett's POV, but some will be written in Rosalie's. And they're all human.**

**Enjoy :) I hope this story will spark your interest.**

* * *

Emmett's POV

Okay, so I'd never thought I would take French. When I was little, I had always wanted to learn to speak German and be like Hitler, to dominate the world. That was back then, before I learned the reasons behind his infamy. I just thought he was totally cool, since he was well-known. But my friends told me that German was the hardest language in the world, and when they put it like that…

That had pretty much convinced me that German was a no go. And plus, I didn't like how _every single letter_ had to be pronounced when speaking the language, because wouldn't it just sound guttural in a way? Spanish was too…boring. Learning it would make my heritage all pointless.

Therefore, I decided to take French. What better way to get the ladies than with an alluring language?

* * *

Since today was the first day of my junior year, I had to make myself look good for the future of my high school career, and of course, for the girls. I usually wasn't a vain person, but today I allowed myself a brief glimpse at the window of my dark hair and model-like chest. I had worked hard for that chest, but it was all worth it in the end. Throwing it out just slightly, I walked into the classroom, immediately drawing stares from not just everyone in the vicinity, but the _whole_ classroom. I saw jaws drop open and jealously in some eyes. I was a stunner, and I knew it. That thought made me grin.

Not long after I had arrived, someone else walked in. I didn't really care who the new arrival was, since I figured I would know every face by the time class was over. However, that wasn't the case. She drew many gasps as well, and people were openly ogling at her, without even trying to be covert about it. I couldn't help myself either. She was tall, slender, and looked exactly like a supermodel minus the anorexia. Her clothes fit her snugly, exactly accentuating the right places. Her golden hair gently fell in perfect waves down her back, almost to her waist. Not one strand was out of place. I wondered what it would look like if she put it up. Wow, was she a looker—no, not only that—she was drop dead gorgeous. I wondered why I had never noticed such a goddess before in the school. Was she a freshman? No…she couldn't be. Or at least, I hope she wasn't. No _way_ was I dating a freshman. It doesn't matter how good they look; they were all conceited and snobbish.

As she walked towards an empty seat, I saw this unknown wonder wink at some of the guys and ignore with obvious scorn some of the ones that were practically drooling. I looked away in disgust too. They could at least _try_ to have a little more tact—that way, they would preserve whatever dignity they had to begin with. But her legs were so perfect…I turned towards Miss Universe again. She was now flashing some random guy one of those smiles that I usually saw on a Crest Whitestrips commercial. Perfectly white and even teeth. Wow. I couldn't really blame the guy for immediately trying to strike up a conversation with her. Not doing so was like throwing away a diamond.

I turned away. I wasn't going to be like the rest of them, vying for her attention. I was going to talk to her later, not anytime soon. If I did, I'd sound like a desperate fool.

* * *

Right before the late bell rang, the teacher swept in and turned to face us in a wannabe pirouette. Judging from the way she came in, I could tell she was obviously a drama queen. Her three-and-a-half inch high _sparkly_ stilettos confirmed that. I had always wondered how the opposite gender could carry that off—placing all their support on heels that were literally as thin as chopsticks. Without further ado, she gave us a smile that was intended to be charming but that I found to be sickening, and started to talk.

"_Bienvenue __à__ la salle de classe de français! Je__ m'appelle__ Mademoiselle __Candeur__._ Does anyone know what I just said?"

We all looked at her blankly. It was only one minute into the class, and she expects us to already know French? What was up with this woman? It wasn't even one of those common French words that people know, like _bonjour_ or _touch__é_. I didn't have a single clue to what the first word she uttered was. It sounded something like bee-ev-inue. Obviously, we were clueless to whatever she had just said. That is, all of us except for the goddess in a human body. Her raised hand certainly had our attention.

"Yes, my dear?" the teacher smiled at her.

"Welcome to the class of French. I am Miss Candeur." What a silky voice! I could listen to it for hours—I was fairly sure it would never grate against my ears like the teacher's sandpaper voice did.

"Excellent! But just so you know, the _literal_ translation of that was 'Welcome to the _classroom _of French! I _call myself _Miss Candeur. Just for reference. We will now begin class by checking attendance, then we will learn the very simple necessities of French!" She picked up a sheet of paper and began calling out names.

"Candice Alamore..."

I felt myself zoning out. I found this woman to be seriously annoying and redundant. Who _cares_ what those words meant literally? We'd learn the verbs later anyways, so what's the point? I turned towards Wondergirl again. This time she caught me looking at her and displayed her brilliant set of teeth at me. As much as I would have liked to respond to that, I turned away again. I was going to show her that I wouldn't be controlled by her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her look confused. I smiled to myself. Good. It was time she learned something new: simple dazzling doesn't work well on Emmett Cullen. Finally, I was snapped back to the present with the _Candure_ (that's what it sounded like when she said it) woman's annoying whipcrack voice.

"…not here? Emmett Cullen is absent?"

One of my friends sitting behind me kicked the table leg just as I responded "Here, sorry". Mademoiselle what's-her-face glared at me and moved on.

What a freaking dou—woman. So it's a mutual hatred…but she can't do anything to me if I act like a good boy…right?

As the list went on and on, I waited to hear _that_ girl confirm her presence, so that I would finally know her name. I figured I might have a long wait—this teacher was so effing _slow._ She was only at the H's. I sat in a stupor, wondering if one could possibly pass out from boredom, when—

"Rosalie El—Hell."

Our whole class burst out in raucous laugher, not unlike hyenas. Even the angel smiled slightly.

"SILENCE!" Miss Oh-she-thinks-she's-so-cool screamed. We all flinched but obediently choked back our snorts of mirth.

"Rosalie Hell."

I felt empathy for the owner of that name. I was pretty sure her last name wasn't "Hell", and—

"Here. And it's Hale." The words came out of the last mouth I would have expected it from.

My face registered shock. _That_ was her name? It was so old-fashioned. What the _hell_ were her parents thinking? Hell indeed. And why couldn't the teacher pronounce the 'h'?

I turned and raised an eyebrow at Eric Yorkie, the friend who had kicked me earlier. "Don't you know her?" he asked. "That's Rosalie Hale, Jasper's sister. You should know. You hang out with Jasper every day." He looked as if I was missing something very obvious.

She was Jasper's sister?! _The _Jasper from the football team? One of my best buddies?! I felt extremely retarded now. Quickly bringing Jasper's face to the fore of my mind, I compared them. Their facial features were almost the same, but they didn't look anything alike. Their eyes were an extremely light shade of slate grey, but with more grey than blue. All around were long lashes that curled slightly. They both had perfectly straight noses, not too hooked. However, Rosalie had lips that completely surpassed all of those of the lipstick commercial women. As for Jasper's…well, let's not go there.

Thank the gods, the sloth impersonator finally finished the list of names, to be replaced with something even worse. She started talking about herself.

"Well, to start off, I am Canadian-French, and I—"

_Blah, blah, blah,_ I thought. Would she _ever _shut up that big mouth of hers? Instead I thought of one of my buddies on the football team, and also my best friend: Edward. I recalled that talent he had of looking like he was really focused on something but was actually in a far away place. I tried doing that now—seeing without seeing—and failed miserably.

"Mr. Cullen! I would like you to _please_ pay attention!"

I quickly focused my eyes. Hmm. I would have to ask Edward about that sometime.

* * *

The rest of class was dedicated to us learning the simple necessities of French. As I listened to that old hag (well she isn't old; I just get the satisfaction from calling her that) drone on and on about how you were supposed to address a group of people or elders differently, I memorized it all without really even listening. I'm talented like that. And that's how I came to acquire my perfect grades. I'm a _clever _hunk—just like Edward was—which was why we have girls ogling over us. Bit annoying really, since a lot of them didn't have natural beauty; some painted their faces with so many layers of makeup that it sometimes made me want to throw up. I could see what Edward meant—people were so mediocre. And I could finally see why he's never held a single ounce of interest for anyone. I hadn't either, but Rosalie was certainly interesting. However, she _was_ quite a minx, and I wasn't about to inflate her ego even more in addition to whatever the multitudes of previous guys had done earlier. Was she always this cocky?

What more perfect way to find out than to question others? After seating myself at a lunch table with our regular group, I immediately turned to Jasper Hale. Why hadn't he ever said anything before about a sister? If _I_ had been her brother, I would have bragged about her to no end.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you had a sister?!" I chided him.

He laughed lightly at me. "Because you never asked. So, I assume you've finally found out about Rosalie? Has she got you on your toes too?" This last was followed with snickers from around the group. I made a mental note to later throw the football straight at his face and break his nose.

"What grade is she in?" This too was followed by unconcealed laughter.

Then Alice, my sister, (not in blood, since we were both adopted) took pity on me and explained.

"Emmett, you _are_ funny. She's in your grade…I thought you said you knew every single person in your grade? And what happened to you saying that you knew all the good-looking girls in the school?" At least she had the grace to spare me from a few other things I had said before.

I wasn't a blusher, but I avoided everyone's eyes when I answered. "I thought she was a sophomore, even a freshman. She certainly acts like one."

Edward grinned at me. "Are you sure you don't act like one as well?"

I gave up. Once someone took advantage of my vulnerabilities the rest were on me like a pack of wolves. Arguing with them would only bring up more embarrassing subjects.

Edward, however, _didn't._ For someone who claimed he wasn't interested in girls, he was pretty nosy about _my _love life.

"You like her, don't you? Emmett Cullen and Rosalie Hale, the spiffy coup—OW!"

I had kicked him rather violently under the table. Not with all my strength, of course, because then he would end up in a cast for at least a month and my parents would never, ever forgive me. Especially since my dad, Carlisle, was the doctor-surgeon extraordinaire of our city.

"Shut _up_," I hissed under my breath at him. I didn't want Jasper to know. Who knows what a protective brother might do even to his best friend? Unfortunately, Jasper noticed.

"You like Rosalie?" he asked quietly. When Jasper spoke like that, it was hard to know if he was deadly furious or just curious.

I turned my face up, just a little. "No, I do _not_ like her," I scoffed. "Since when did you pick on me when I ask about girls?"

Jasper laughed. "Your face tells all."

My_ face_?! WHAT?! I was sure I had kept a noncommittal face. Darn you Edward…you and your perfect emotionless mask. I was fuming until Alice called something to my attention.

"Hey Emmett…you're in heaven now…look who's coming here…" Stupid them. Why won't they believe me?

But I had no time to think of that, as Rosalie-bloody-gorgeous-Hale came up to our table and smiled at me coyly. "Hey, everyone. _Bonjour, __mon__ beau __gar__ç__on__._"

Mon beau garçon?! How flirty was she? And darn _it,_ I was trapped. No one else here was in French except for Alice, but she was _not_ a boy. She didn't even bother hiding her mirth, and Rosalie was smirking by now. Doomed. There was no way out of this. I was going to have to suck it up, and…

* * *

**A/N: Whoo! What will Emmett do? So how did you guys like it? I don't think I did this story justice, but I was trying to make Emmett have conflicted feelings towards Rosalie. Tell me how I did please! Should I continue? Or should I not?**

**In case anyone was wondering, **_**mon beau garcon **_**is French for "my handsome boy". Okay, I just made Rosalie sound all weird now :( And Emmett will later find out why the teacher has trouble pronouncing the 'h'. Hint: it's French related! :D**

**Also, a great thanks to **_**dear forever yours,**_** my awesome beta. She gave me this idea, and also her support. Staying up until six in the morning :P Cookie for you! x3 Ok, so if you haven't already, go read her stories! She's an excellent author and her stories own all :) **

**Oh yeah, and Emmett's and Rosalie's behavior towards the teacher (and vice versa) are based on mine's and my beta's. She's Emmett, and I'm Rosalie xD Although I'm nowhere near as smart as she is. The teacher's preferential treatment isn't exaggerated. Well maybe just a little. Haha. Yes yes we're both in French :P**

**Please please please review! Reviews inspire me to write a lot :D**


	2. Catalyst

**Disclaimer: Same as before—©Stephenie Meyer, period_._**

**And I'm warning you before you read this—I'm going to go insanely crazy in this chapter. This one belongs to Rosalie, so it'll mostly be in her POV. And Lauren will be completelyyy out of character, so meh. xP  
**

**AND FINALLY, THERE IS CUSSING AND INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE IN HERE. Hopefully, this will be the only chapter. :P  
**

* * *

Rosalie's POV

_Flashback: One period later, after French class…_

I didn't get it. Why did that Emmett person ignore me? Never, _ever_ had anyone ignored me before, least of all a guy. Hmm. Maybe he thought I was smiling to someone else—that's why he looked away. Yes, that must be it. For I, Rosalie Lillian Hale, would not settle for anything less than perfect, and everyone knew that too. But still…that chest…that was seriously something—I couldn't deny that. I decided to go up to him during lunch and charm the pants off of him. Yes, I was so good I didn't even need to _try_. It would succeed without a doubt. So I was going to try…French. Speaking French would definitely impress him. It was such a romantic language that I was sure he would fall head over heels for me.

* * *

Emmett's POV

_Back to present (lunch)…_

I just stared at her stoically, without blinking or moving. I was completely still in my seat—not the stillness that comes from awe, but the stillness that represented indifference. Seeing no reaction from me, her smile faltered. I highly doubt she was hurt, since she didn't even know me, but rather, she was shocked because it was the first time she had ever been rejected. Of that I was sure because I was willing to bet my sightly chest that the guys were too awed with her features—no, with her, period. And after all, they weren't purposely being rebellious, as I was right now.

"Ignore him, he's being an extreme jerk right now," I heard Alice say to Rosalie. "He's usually not like this to anyone, and especially not to girls." She gave the latter a reassuring smile. Rosalie stalked away with her nose slightly in the air without another glance at me. Jasper smiled rather ruefully, which in my disgruntled state looked too much like a smirk right now.

"Are you _sure_ you don't like her, Emmett?" Alice asked me, worriedly now. I didn't even bother to respond. They just didn't get it, did they?

"You should've seen your face—it was so _stoned_," Edward clarified for me when I gave him a questioning glare.

"No it wasn't!" Alice giggled. "He was gawking at her when she came up to talk to him!"

I gave her a death glare that had her backtracking immediately. Alice was a pretty great sister, but at times like this I really, _really_ wanted to shake some sense into her.

"—I mean, of course you weren't, w-what would I know, I wasn't even w-watching," she stuttered.

Sometimes, Alice just didn't realize that people had limits. They could only endure so much before they cracked. And she often subconsciously went too far, _way_ past those limits. Even with her backtracking, I still wanted the satisfaction of being rude to someone.

"I was NOT _gawking_ at her! I was giving her a who-do-you-think-you-are stare!" I snarled viciously.

I knew I shouldn't have done that, as much as I wanted to. The devil group took it as a cue to start on it all over again.

"Uh-huh, suuuure," Edward said skeptically, emphasizing _sure_ by drawing it out longer. "Looks like someone's being overly defensive." I wanted so badly to kick him where it hurt the most, (ahem you know where) but I refrained from doing so. Instead, I rubbed my temples with my hands, clearly frustrated. If I had any less patience I was going to hit myself.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

"_Does he like hate me or something?!_" I nearly screeched to my friends. No, I would have to control that tone. Screeching would only make me look like a bi—_NO! _my mind screamed at me. _No profanity!_ Speaking so would make me sound like a man…maybe even an _ahem_—hole. I shuddered at the thought of that. Only men and girls who desperately wanted attention cussed.

I internally cursed that stupid loser straight to hell. I got my confirmation; the rejection _stung_. Who was _he_ to act like king of the world? _I_, on the other hand, was one of the royal descendants of Mary Tudor, queen of France, the sister of King Henry VIII. Well, no, I wasn't, but I might as well have been!

"I'm sure he doesn't," replied Jessica Stanley in a tone that was meant to be sympathetic but was just the opposite. I wondered if she knew how pathetic she was at using the right tone. "You probably just drove him speechless with your appearance."

"Yes, he does! The expression on his face seemed to call me conniving! What would you know? You weren't even there!" I fumed, not really caring whose feelings I hurt right now.

"Well, fine," she said sulkily, clearly affronted. "Why did you ask us that question then?"

"Do you _not_ know what rhetorical means?"

"And how was I supposed to have known?"

Angela Weber, who was the most understanding out of all my friends, now hurried to placate the both of us so that we wouldn't start a heated argument then and there. Now _here_ was someone who could calm me down.

"No, no, it's okay, Jessica. I wouldn't have known either. And Rosalie, I'm sure he responded like that because he must have felt embarrassed in front of his friends." Her voice was just right. I soon felt the heat wash off.

"Do you really think so?" I asked her in a small voice.

"Yes," she replied gently. "No one could refuse you if you act civil."

Lauren Mallory was just sitting there, examining her nails. I swear, that girl has no sympathy for anyone except herself when it came to guy trouble. Especially when she complains to us that she doesn't understand why her "hotness" hasn't sparked any guy's interest yet. _Yeah, I _totally_ wonder why…_I thought sarcastically. She was _so_ not hot, what with all her makeup. Seriously. She had so much of it plastered on her face I would be surprised if even a single pore on her face could breathe. All those cosmetics combined didn't make her look good—in fact, it only made it look like she tried too hard.

And plus, I didn't get what her problem was. It wasn't like we even talked to her or anything; she was just _there_. She always tagged along, oblivious to our not-too-subtle hints that she wasn't welcome. When she _did_ offer her opinion on something, we didn't care enough to listen. While we were pretending she was the wall, she kept on babbling away.

Not to mention that she was one of the school's worst bullies. People were too afraid to defy her anything because they feared her temper—and her three-inch scarlet talons.

I couldn't take it anymore. It was the last straw for me. With the rejection came the feeling of recklessness, driving me on to finally do what I had lacked the courage to do for so long. I stood up and walked over to Lauren. I saw Jessica, Angela, and the rest of the group just in the sight of my peripheral vision. They were all looking at me warily.

"Lauren," I said in a tone that contained no warmth.

"_What_," she stated flatly and scornfully without even looking at me.

"You'd better listen to me this time, because I am being serious. _Look at me,_" I said in a calm, deadly tone. She raised her hideously, heavily made-up eyelids and stared at me, her eyes declaring a clear, unmistakable challenge.

"Well, hurry up, 'cause as you can clearly see, I was in the middle of doing something."

"_You_ are no longer welcome to hang around with _us_." I emphasized the words, hoping it would get through her sieve of a brain.

"What the _fuck_ did you just say to me, you cunt?" she snarled, instantly jumping up and sticking her face into mine, nails forgotten.

"You heard me," I replied grimly, firmly standing my ground.

"You'd better take that back,_ bitch_, because you're not in a position to order me around and tell me what I _can_ and _can't_ do. In fact, you'd better take that back if you know what's best for you."

"My decision is final, Lauren." I could see her face turn purple and her hands inching up from their original position. To do what though?

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK MY NAME WITH YOUR UNWORTHY, FILTHY LIPS, YOU _WHORE!_" she finally screamed at the top of her voice. "I SWEAR YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!" I saw something silver flash in her right hand, and I immediately backed away, but not fast enough. She struck out with the silver object and tried to slash my face with it while simultaneously kicking my legs out from under me.

I heard a sickening _crack_ that could only mean one thing. Almost instantly, my left leg was on fire and I screamed my lungs out from the excruciating pain, the agony. I couldn't concentrate on the pain though—Lauren was dangerously armed and she was coming for me again. I finally managed a brief glimpse of her weapon before she bellowed a war-cry and slashed at me again.

Quick as lightening, I tried to roll away, but she succeeded in slashing across my face _and _my arm in the same stroke of the knife. Suddenly my whole face was burning, oh the agony, from left temple to right jaw. My arm felt as if it had been bitten and ripped off, dismembered. My blood was openly spilling, and I didn't want to concentrate on defending myself anymore. I just wanted to get away, and run, run and never stop, as long as I could run away from the pain…

The entire lunch shelter had been alerted of the scene by now, but why wasn't anyone helping me? Please, oh God, please, don't let me die like this, not here, not now. Why had Lauren stopped the attack? Unearthly screams were coming from my mouth, and I couldn't stop, but I was bleeding to death and no one would help me.

"_PLEASE OH PLEASE GOD IT HURTS SO BADLY I'M DYING SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!_" I screamed gutturally, putting all my heart and remaining energy into it. Still they hesitated.

By now I welcomed death with open arms, if it meant that the pain was going to be taken away.

I forced my eyes open. "_SOMEBODY KILL ME NOW!_" And I finally saw Lauren, being forcibly restrained by two football players. The knife lay on the ground, forgotten, as everybody looked at me but was unsure of what to do. I was only vaguely aware of the pools of blood around me, and the sight of it made me dizzy. Finally, I caught sight of something large just before I drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Emmett's POV

_Flashback: About five minutes after Rosalie stomps away - to present_

I had just recovered from my mortification and no longer felt the need to hide my face in my hands. The subject of Rosalie all forgotten, we were all amicably polishing off our lunches while discussing the football season. We were all ganging up on Alice, trying to make her come support us during our games ("Come on, Alice, it'll be fun." "_No! _I don't want to go alone!" "We'll find someone for you…") when we heard the first several screams coming from Lauren Mallory. Because of her lung capacity, we had no trouble hearing every word she screeched. Such profanity. But since it came from her mouth, it shouldn't have surprised me too much. I couldn't see who she was venting her anger on though—everyone was standing up and the view from our table consisted of pretty much everyone's heads. Then I heard the witch utter a sentence that sent shivers down our backs—we all felt it at the same time. She was going to get violent now.

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK MY NAME WITH YOUR UNWORTHY, FILTHY LIPS, YOU _WHORE! _I SWEAR YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!"

The next thing we knew, we heard a torturous scream of agony. Lauren's attempt to commit a homicide had now begun. Whoever the person goading her was, he or she must've pushed the bully too far. I had barely registered that thought when another heart-wrenching scream shattered the silence, along with Lauren's sounds of effort.

My heart nearly stopped, not because of fear, (well I was afraid for the victim) but because I _recognized_ that voice, just as I knew I would anywhere. It was the angel's scream. It sounded so wrong—no angel should ever have to make that sound. Everyone else was standing shock still; evidently, they were all too afraid of Lauren to help Rosalie. Edward and the group were no longer visible to me as I blindly charged through the crowd.

"_Move!_" I bellowed as I roughly shoved through the mass group of spectators. No one seemed to care though, for they were so enraptured with the violent scene in front of their eyes. Where were the teachers? The deans? Shouldn't they have come running after hearing screams that loud? But then I figured that they probably had as much trouble as I did trying to get through the crowd; they were all the way at the very back of the lunch shelter.

For the millionth time that day, I was so frustrated at being deterred by all these people. As the pain racked her body, each scream made me push harder, trying to get there faster. Why, oh why did we have to sit so far back in the lunch shelter? I had only made it halfway through the tightly packed crowd. I had never felt so frightened in my life. I could hear Lauren's intensified yells, but I didn't know why. I was so possessed with fear that my mind couldn't even form a prayer for Rosalie. Her screams stopped. What had happened? I goaded myself on further, telling myself nonstop that I was almost there. I couldn't think anymore.

"_PLEASE OH PLEASE GOD IT HURTS SO BADLY I'M DYING SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!_" The desperate plea tore at my heart. By now, I was literally _running over_ the people, not really caring if they were injured, as long as I could get to her. I knew I was being selfish but they weren't going to die just by being trampled on. Her life was more at sta—"_SOMEBODY KILL ME NOW!_"

I paid no attention to the stitch in my chest. Her last words were ringing in my ears, and I was so terrified that I wanted to scream too. I finally saw the last of the heads, and I threw myself forward with all my strength. I caught the angel's eyes—they were already half unfocused, and I saw her briefly glance at me before her eyelids dropped closed. I then turned—and saw Lauren. She was being forcibly restrained by two of the guys from the team. Despite her slender frame she was really strong, and she was throwing herself forward, trying to find a weak link in her peers' arms.

No one paid any attention to the bloody weapon on the ground. Rosalie's blood pooled all around her, and her breathing was very shallow. I feared for her life, and I drove myself to _think_ through the unclear haze of my mind.

"CALL 911!" I yelled to one of the idiots who were standing there. Someone hurriedly whipped out his phone and stabbed at the tiny keys, messing up repeatedly in his haste. Someone else snatched the phone out of his hand and punched in the right numbers. They should've done that ever since she started bleeding! Why didn't they? I wanted to strangle those imbeciles, but now wasn't the time.

"_Call the office! Get the nurse!_" I ordered next to another person. That useless girl wailed, "I don't know the number!"

Repressing a snarl, I scooped Rosalie up in my arms and started running to the office. Her body felt dangerously light. I knew in ordinary circumstances one wasn't supposed to move a bleeding victim, but the circumstances now were anything but ordinary. No one here knew how to apply pressure to the wounds, and even if the deans did, I wasn't going to wait for them. Running to the nurse was the most direct and fastest way if Rosalie's life was going to be saved.

I didn't know how to correctly apply pressure on the wound to slow down the bleeding, but I had to try. Since she was bleeding from her left arm, I shifted my hands' position so that one of them was firmly pressing on the wound. However, it was deep, so her blood spilled all over my hands in no time. Likewise, the deep cut made on her face was causing a deluge of blood to flow. That psychopath responsible for this must have put in a lot of brute force behind the slashes, driven on by raw anger. I was going to personally make sure she would, from now on, stay out of our lives.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

…I kept drifting in and out of unconsciousness. I wasn't in enough pain to blackout completely, but the pain was enough to stab me like a thousand knives every time I was unwillingly brought back to life. Shouldn't I have been dead by now? I was…I was…everything went hazy again.

…

…I did not know how much time as passed, but I couldn't bear the hurt. Please, please just finish me off for good…

…

…Third time. I was finally aware enough to know that someone was running somewhere, and I was ensheathed in his arms. It suddenly felt alright. I tried to look up. Who was it…? I couldn't find out…then another wave of blackness took over again…

…

…We were slowing down. Once again, I struggled to see the face of my rescuer. My eyelids protested against my will. They were so heavy…just keep them closed…I'll see it later…however, I forced them open by an infinitesimal amount, and managed a quick glimpse of his face before my eyelids took over. My heart soared.

Finally, I had an insane last thought before I blacked out completely. I laughed weakly to myself at the ludicrousness of it, especially compared to the situation I was in right now.

Low_-ren had been cussing in every sentence…she was _so_ like a rogue.  
_

* * *

**A/N: Between the periods of Rosalie's bouts of consciousness, she is out for about five seconds each time.**

** _dear forever yours_**** is my angel…haha you know, for reading my stories and editing them! Not in the Rosalie and Emmett way :O**

**And to _dynonugget_, sorry my chapter title had the same title as one of your stories, but I couldn't think of another word that meant 'to speed up reactions'. Sorry! I wasn't trying to copy you! Promise! T-T**

** Now, can you guys make me happy? Please? I was supposed to be doing APUSH summer work, but I ditched it for this, (cause APUSH is just so darn BORING -.-x and I can't concentrate at all) and it's due Friday :( Now I will have some super speedy catching up to do. I'll finish…I hope. :X**

** Fanfiction - Yay! APUSH -**** BOOO**


	3. Waiting

**Disclaimer: :Chants slowly to self in trance-like state while a pendulum is swinging in front of the eyes: "_Not mine…not mine…not mine…_"**

**This chapter will be in many POVs—those of the people who are in any way affiliated with Rosalie.**

**This chapter is extra long because I have community service, like, right now, so I'm basically going to be gone the whole day and I won't do any writing at all. Maybe when I come back. Which is like 12 in the morning. Oh well. Enjoy! :D**

* * *

Emmett's POV

About twenty feet away from the office, I began yelling for help, knowing that it would both attract the workers' attention and alert them of an emergency.

"_We've got a fatally wounded student here!_" That desperate cry would get the whole office staff to help me with the blood-soaked Rosalie. Sure enough, the principal, a secretary, and others flung the door out of their way in their haste to reach us. My eyes anxiously searched for the most crucial person right now—and there she was, the nurse. I had never been so happy to see her in my entire life. One of the personnel rushed forward to relieve my arms from the weight, and the nurse immediately pressed her fingers on the pressure points of Rosalie's nearly drained arm; she could do nothing about the face. Without bothering to wipe my hands on my jeans I whipped out my immaculate phone and speed dialed Carlisle. He picked up before the first ring even ended.

"Emmett-we're-almost-there" he said swiftly, all in one breath. Sure enough, I heard the approaching sirens.

"Thank God, Dad," I half whispered. "She needs you." I didn't know what to say after that, so I just hung up, blind to my own actions.

I looked at the phone that now bore my bloody fingerprints. _I must really care about her_, I thought. I always strove to keep that phone spick-and-span at all times. I never forgot to make sure my hands were clean before I used it, washing them if I had to. Usually when I had let a friend borrow it I would clean it with disinfectant later. But now, it was all smeared and probably smelled of rust and whatever food I had touched with my hands earlier. My friends often joked that I had a cleanliness disorder. Wait until they saw me now, stained from shoulders to feet. They'd be so proud.

Barely a minute after my phone call the white ambulance van wailed its way into our school. The side doors opened just as the van was rounding the curve of the parking lot. Disregarding their own safety the small medical group except for the driver jumped off and bolted right through the gates as if they were being chased by the grim reaper.

"Emmett, where are they?" an Asian doctor called to me. (When your father's got buddies and they come around often, they get to know you really well.) I silently pointed to the office door. With a nod of thanks they all rushed through, led on by the trail of blood. I couldn't speak at all. I think I was going into shock, but nowhere near what Rosalie had endured. If losing all that blood didn't kill her I was afraid the shock would.

Finally too exhausted to do anything, my legs collapsed from under me. I sat there, holding onto one of the vertical bars of the gate, staring out into the distance. My thoughts confused me.

* * *

Carlisle's POV

We burst into the room where Rosalie was and found the school nurse reducing the girl's flow of blood while trying to stay calm. She was doing a good job so far. I quickly checked to see if the victim still had a pulse. Thank God, she did, albeit a weak one. As an EMT rolled a stretcher in, I gently told the nurse that she was to keep holding on. I went to stand at Rosalie's head, and my teammate slid his arms under the crooks of her knees. After an unspoken count of three we both lifted her in sync, up and onto the stretcher. I took over for the nurse, now situated on the right side of the victim. Once the nurse had released the pressure the wound had started expelling blood again profusely. I quickly wrapped up the bleeding section a little tightly with gauze; not too tightly, or else that would induce the severe wound to bleed even more. Even with the flowing slightly impeded by the gauze, I still pressed on the pressure point of her arm. An oxygen mask was fitted to her face, the machine starting.

Even after having briefly examined the injury I could not see how it could bleed that much. Neither arteries nor veins were severed, and not matter how deep the wound was she should not have lost that much blood in so little time. She was literally hemorrhaging—which should not have happened unless her arm was amputated…but it was far from that.

We were just about ready to go, except for one doctor who was talking to Emmett…trying to relieve him of his shock I presume.

Finally, after about several more minutes, we were on our way to the hospital, speeding smoothly through a clear road due to the help of the siren.

* * *

Emmett's POV

I didn't know how long I remained sitting in that position, but eventually a doctor shook me gently by the shoulder. He must have been new to the team, since Carlisle had never brought him home before. Warily, I turned and was met by a pair of hazel eyes.

"How are you feeling right now?" he asked me softly.

I shook my head, not being able to answer. I finally felt the shock settling in. I hadn't even realized it until now. To think that only half an hour ago Rosalie was _fine_, showing off to me. Now she was in a life-threatening situation.

"Try to relax," he said. "You've done a good job so far. It was very brave of you, but there isn't anything more you can do right now. If anything, it was you who saved her life. She's going to be okay." That statement brought up another point—who to blame it on.

It was all my fault. If I hadn't rejected her, she would have been sitting with us. I had pretty much figured what had happened. From her embarrassment and anger she found the courage to confront Lauren. None of this would have happened if it weren't for me and my big fat pride. Alice was right. I _was_ a jerk. And now someone could lose her life because of it.

"_You're wrong!_ _You don't know for sure,_" I shouted to him in my fear. My voice cracked on the last word, and I could feel the pounding of my heart made against my chest.

The doctor finally seemed to feel that I wanted to be left alone. He replied with a "We'll save her, I promise" and walked away at last.

_Don't make promises you can't keep!_ my brain shouted. I knew I was blowing this wildly out of proportion, but since when was terror rational? I stared at the ambulance van driving away until I lost sight of it. The siren's sharp blaring was repeating itself nonstop in my head. This whole situation left me with a migraine. I clutched at my head, trying to get rid of the pain.

I heard noises behind me and saw just about the entire school coming towards the front. What was happening?

* * *

Edward's POV

I watched my best friend hurl his body towards the tightly packed crowd. Someone was screaming bloody murder, and I was pretty sure there was going to be bloodshed. By now, a lot of people were standing on their benches, and a few on the tables. I couldn't see anything, what with that mass crowd in front of us and everything, so I got up on the table. Jasper and Alice followed suit. Jasper's and my statures were both over six feet, which provided us with an advantage. It also gave us a much clearer view, and with my perfect vision, I saw everything. My eyes narrowed dangerously.

Alice, however, was not so fortunate. Standing at only four feet ten inches, she only got more annoyed at staring at other people's backs some more. Her eyes narrowed as well, and I heard a soft snarl come from her mouth. Jasper heard it too and immediately crouched down, letting her get on his back and in piggyback position. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the sight of them just standing there like that was pretty laughable.

The next few moments were unbearable agony. We didn't have a clue what was happening, since some retards decided to start _jumping up and down_ to see what was happening. I wanted to strangle them. The silence was unnerving, and the people at the very front were breathless, not conveying anything to the people further behind them.

Suddenly, the silence was shattered by further yells. Both the girls were screaming bloody murder now. There was a rumor that had quickly gone around saying that Lauren was one of the girls involved in the fight. Judging by her personality and her social status, she was the one who had started all of this. Her screaming right now probably signaled that she was fighting tooth and nail—I mean talon—against whoever had the guts to restrain her. We couldn't be sure if it was Lauren though, but until we found out for sure, we just assumed it was her.

The other girl wanted everything to end, as we all heard the words. Suddenly Alice gasped.

"_I recognize that voice! We just heard it at the beginning of lunch! It's _Rosalie!" she whispered to Jasper and me. Jasper nearly dropped her but quickly recovered. He started trembling. Alice's arms tightened in response.

Holy crap, she was right. Now that I replayed her last sentence in her head, it was painfully obvious.

I was wondering where Emmett was right now when I heard his sharp, authoritative tone, telling people to call for help. _Smart Emmett, that's my pal_, I thought, grinning. Jeez. What was wrong with me? This wasn't supposed to be humorous!

The next thing we knew, we all watched in amazement as a burly yet distorted figure sprinted away from the scene. It was Emmett, and he was running…carrying Rosalie?

In our fearful fascination of the scene, we hadn't notice the deans finally push their way to the very front. The bouncing idiots had finally stopped, and we could all see the shock engraved in the deans' faces. Immediately taking control, one of them grabbed the screaming, fighting girl and pulled her hands together and behind her, his own hands serving as handcuffs. As she was pulled nearer we saw that it was indeed Lauren.

"Everybody listen!" a sharp voice rang out. It was the other dean. "Due to what has just happened, you cannot stay here any longer for the rest of the day. We will be closing off the campus, and everybody is required to go home. But first…" he went on…for about what seemed to be an hour but was really fifteen minutes. What the hell did he have to say? Time was dragging so slowly, prolonged by the anxiousness I felt for Emmett. Where was he now?

We were finally allowed to leave. As the crowd surged forward, Alice quickly dismounted and we all cut across the forward-moving crowd, aiming to get away. We weaved through all of the bodies and were soon clear. Circling around the lunch shelter, we ran in the hallways, which seemed to stretch a mile long. I had never before given a thought to this enormous school, but now I cursed it as we rushed towards the gate.

* * *

Alice's POV

_Emmett, where are you?_ I thought as I ran, wishing I was telepathic. We were all starting to breathe somewhat hard, but we were close. Yes! We had reached the end, but the other students were streaming through the other hallway. Finally, I spotted Emmett, sitting behind the gate, staring listlessly ahead.

* * *

Jasper's POV

Before I could take a breath and call out Emmett's name, he turned around and stared at the oncoming stream of students, his eyes silently condemning.

"EMMETT!" I bellowed, probably the loudest voice I had ever used in my life. He turned his accusing eyes towards us but finally struggled to get up. With a final burst of speed, I leaped further than I probably ever had in football, and finally I was by his side. After pulling him up, I leaned on the gate for support, breathing hard. Alice and Edward had caught up, and we all looked pained, though Emmett's was of a different kind.

"Come on, let's get you changed," I said, giving Emmett a gentle push towards the office door. He reluctantly took a few steps, but seeing us behind him with our full support, he walked there faster.

* * *

Emmett's POV

I walked out of there with a different set of clothes, the old ones safely stashed away in a large plastic bag. To cover up the smell I put the bag into another one and into another and another, tying them all tightly. The trash can in the restroom now held a bunch of paper towels stained with red. Before I was even out of the door my phone vibrated. I pressed the soft key for 'Accept' and silently waited. Alice, the most intuitive of us, got the clue.

"We're in Edward's car. Hurry. We're going to the hospital."

Still not wanting to talk, I responded with an "Hm" and hung up, speeding up the pace of my walking.

_Three minutes later_

The drive to the hospital was a tense atmosphere. We all just sat there, staring out our windows as Edward stared forward. The Volvo's humming engine turned out to be rather soothing, to my surprise. Suddenly Jasper jumped in his seat. We all looked at him, puzzled.

* * *

Jasper's POV

"OH CRAP!" I yelled. The numbness in my brain had led me to forget everything. "How could I have possibly forgotten?" I dug in my backpack for my phone. After finally locating it I slid up the screen to reveal the keypad underneath. My fingers flew across the number buttons and after a few seconds it connected. It rang several times before my mom picked up.

"Jasper?" her anxious voice said. "Why are you calling me in school? Has something gone wrong?" She was a sharp one, my mother. She often caught on quickly.

"YesMomwe'reonourwaytothehospitalcauseRosalieisfatallyinjured," I said all in a rush.

"WHAT?!" she screamed in shock. "How could this happen?"

"Mom just come to the hospital and we'll explain everything to you now can you call dad and ask him to come too?" I managed all in one breath.

"Yes we're coming. I don't care if your dad is in a meeting right now. Rosalie's life is more important than whatever they have to talk about. I'm sure the company will feel the same way." She hung up. Everyone looked at me in amazement.

"Wow, I actually can't believe we all forgot," Alice breathed. I couldn't think of anything to answer with, and neither could anyone else; an awkward silence fell among us. We all sat in silence and resumed our staring of the ever-passing scenery. I felt so ashamed, to hear my own twin sister's screams and not recognize them. I had been hearing it my whole life and I still couldn't distinguish between hers and other people's. To me, all girls' screams sounded the same. The terror had rooted me to the ground, and I hadn't even tried to help her. What kind of a brother was I? Rosalie was going to be so mad at me. Why couldn't I be like Emmett, always helping ones in danger despite his own fear?

* * *

Emmett's POV

When we entered the hospital, a receptionist working at the front desk greeted us. Getting straight to the point, Jasper asked for the room Rosalie Lillian Hale was in. The receptionist asked, "Are you family?" Jasper affirmed the fact, and she told him the location.

"But the doctors are working on her right now, so you will have to wait until she is cleared." I was already walking away, frustrated with the woman for repeating things that we knew already. The rest of the group followed, with Jasper muttering a quick 'thank you'.

* * *

Carlisle's POV

We figured out what had caused the immense bleeding. Good thing it was slow-acting though. So far everything had been successful, but we had had to draw even more blood from her. She lacked quite a lot of it by now. We were going to need aid later. We also discussed how to close up her lacerated skin. We knew stitching up her arm would work, but we were reluctant to stitch up her face. One of her eyelids was slashed. It was lucky that she had acted on instinct and closed her eyes, especially since she didn't even know her attacker had a knife until she had been cut. If she hadn't, she would have been blind. And stitching up an eyelid just wasn't feasible. But it was the only thing that could have been done with a wound this wide and deep. We went to work…

* * *

Emmett's POV

No wonder everyone hated waiting rooms. They were a place of torture, a self-explanatory room. We waited…and waited…and waited. I still had not said a single word, and the room was once again blanketed with the tense silence. No one felt the need to do anything…we just sat there. The waiting drove me insane. It made me want to rip out my hair, made me want to smash my fist into the wall. I looked at my watch instead. It was only 2:33. Had time stopped?

Alice had taken to pacing. Jasper had his head in his hands. Edward had been reading the same page of the magazine for the past thirty-five minutes. I stared blankly at the opposite wall. Alice's relentless pacing completed the insanity of waiting. I forcefully hit my own forehead with a fist. All eyes snapped towards me.

Luckily, the tedium was interrupted by the arrival of Rosalie's parents. They ran in, nearly trampling Alice. After a quick apology, they wheeled on us and bombarded us with questions. What was Rosalie's welfare? What had happened at school? Unfortunately, we were wondering the same thing ourselves, so we couldn't answer them.

Not long after that, three girls stepped around the corner and came to join us: Tanya Laurier, Jessica, and Angela. Tanya walked over and greeted me quickly. She was a mutual friend of Rosalie's and mine. Well, Rosalie's best friend actually, and one of closest friends. She was French, and her surname made many jealous, including Rosalie. Maybe that's why Rosalie wanted to learn French…I stopped. Thinking about Rosalie was painful.

I saw her conversing with Alice about something. It had to be something neither Jessica nor Angela had the answer to. I knew it wasn't about what happened in the beginning because they had the best view of it, being behind Rosalie. Tanya had had a student council meeting at lunch, so she wasn't there. But I was sure her friends would have told her about it too.

She came to sit down near me, giving me a little bit of space. I finally forced myself to talk.

"Do you know how it started?" As if on cue, Mr. and Mrs. Hale's eyes snapped towards Tanya. So did the eyes of the rest of us, except for those of Jessica and Angela.

Tanya looked startled. "Oh yeah, I was so distracted about the current situation that I completely forgot." She frowned at Angela from across the room. "Ange?" They were both laconic girls. That proved to be relieving for my head. Good thing she didn't ask Jessica. From the moment I had heard her utter a word, I already wanted to tape up her mouth.

Angela quickly explained everything, and miraculously, for once, Jessica didn't bother to interrupt and exaggerate.

I felt my hands clench into fists, and Edward's eyes narrowed into their trademark danger slits. Alice's horrified expression froze into place, and Jasper's usually passive mien had disappeared. He was now radiating enough rage to terrify all of us. I would always remember that face for the rest of my life. Never had he been this angry, not even when Alice had accidentally broken his guitar two days after he had bought it. I already knew from the look on his face that he was going to make Lauren pay. For life, but doing so without violence. And so was I. She was going to regret this to her dying day.

Unfortunately for them, Rosalie's parents didn't know about Lauren's temperament, but hearing someone stabbing their daughter was enough to ignite sparks of fury in their eyes.

* * *

Tanya's POV

Imagine hearing a sudden, high-pitched scream interrupt your speech at the meeting. All of you run out to see what had happened, only to see your best friend getting violently slashed by the school's meanest, scariest person. Her pain cuts through you, and you are terrified yet angry at yourself for not being able to help her in any way. You wish you hadn't disregarded the first holler that you heard because you had thought it was just an excited student. Of course, had I heard the words, I would have come running out like I was on fire, but they were indistinguishable, so I had just ignored them. It proved to be the biggest mistake of all.

That was how I felt right now, guilt washing horribly over me. I kept cursing myself. If I had listened to my instincts and went to investigate earlier I could have protected Rosalie before the knife was out. With my black belt in karate, Lauren wouldn't have been able to stand a chance; I could still take her down even if she did bring out the knife. A simple maneuver would have enabled me to break her wrist, causing her to drop the knife immediately. I would've kicked it out of reach. And then I would have broken her. Well maybe not that extreme.

* * *

Third person POV

A doctor rushed into the waiting room. He instantly recognized Dr. Cullen's son.

"Emmett!" he called, relieved to have found the people he needed without too much delay. Time was very crucial as of right now. The youth looked extremely stressed.

"Okay, everyone, this is an urgent matter here concerning Rosalie Hale." Seeing he had the whole room's attention once he uttered the word 'Rosalie', he continued faster.

"Owing to the amount of blood she has lost, she is now in dire need of blood. Are any of you interested in donating blood?"

"What about the bags of blood you have from previous donors?" Tanya asked. The doctor told her that the blood was all reserved for patients who were going to need the transfusions at a later time, and that the newly donated blood had not arrived yet.

"So we're in a bit of an emergency here," he concluded, smiling slightly sheepishly. Tanya's mouth formed an 'O' in comprehension, while Emmett's lips were pressed into a hard line.

"Now, down to business," the doctor said, resuming his announcement. "Rosalie's blood type is A negative. Does anybody match that?"

"I have A positive," Angela spoke up quietly. "Would that work?"

The doctor shook his head. "No, I'm afraid that A positive would only apply to the exact same, and also to AB positive." Mr. and Mrs. Hale were looking at each other desperately; apparently, neither one of them had the same blood type as their daughter's.

"I have O negative," Edward said tersely. The stress was getting to him too.

"Excellent," the doctor replied, extremely relieved. "Have you had foods rich in iron recently? Say, for lunch, Mr…?"

"I had a whole grain type of cereal this morning, and for lunch I had pasta with turkey and a salad. The name's Edward Masen." Edward's parents had always stressed a healthy diet, and they often went to Emmett's father for advice.

The doctor gave an approving nod. "Now, because you are a minor, you cannot donate without a parent's permission. Do you think one of them could arrive as soon as possible?"

"I don't know." He whipped out his phone and called.

"Hello…Mom? Can you get off of work right now? It's an emergency, and I need to donate my blood but I'm a minor…yes, I'm there…yes…thank you Mom." He turned to the doctor. "She'll be here in ten minutes."

"Okay, we're going to have to do this a differently from procedure. We'll have to tweak it in order to accommodate the situation at hand. Instead of registering first, we'll give you a physical and test your blood to ensure that it is free of disease and that it has an adequate amount of iron."

As they traversed the hospital, the doctor paged a nurse, telling her to get the required paperwork for a donor and to wait for Mrs. Masen's arrival. They went through the process…

* * *

Edward's POV

Half an hour later and one and a half pints of blood less, I weakly walked back to the waiting room. Grateful that I had always listened to Carlisle's lectures, I now recalled everything he said. The average adult had between ten to twelve pints of blood, and I had the average of those numbers. He had also said that the maximum amount of blood that could be safely drawn altogether at one time was twelve percent of the donor's blood volume. I had donated fourteen percent. Although there were cookies and juice in the "canteen", the room blood donors went to for refreshment, I didn't feel any better. As I dropped into the nearest chair available, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, and my mom all rushed over to me hurriedly. After Alice quickly checked to see that I wasn't going to pass out, she quickly ran out. I wondered what was with her.

"Edward!" my mom cried before anyone else could open his mouth. "You look so pale! How much blood did you donate?"

I was sure she was exaggerating the pale part. "I'm fine, mom. I donated just a little more than the safe twelve percent, but don't worry, the doctor didn't ask me to. I offered," I said soothingly.

Her eyes almost dropped out of their sockets when I said the words 'more than the safe'. She tended to overreact, just like a lot of mothers out there.

"Mom, all I need is food and fluids and I'll be back to normal. Do you think you can make it back to work now?" I knew that sounded kind of rude, just asking her to come and go, but I really didn't see the point of her taking the rest of the day off her job when it was still early.

She bit her lip. "I suppose…but don't exert yourself in any way, okay? And stay safe honey!" she said, already getting up and giving me a gentle hug. She then left.

Jasper and Emmett were regretful that they couldn't help in any way, especially Emmett. However, they still didn't get to say anything, as they were interrupted for the second time in a row.

"Thank you so much, Edward," Rosalie's parents said reverently, the gratitude in their tone transparent. "You may have saved her life." I could only modestly reply that I had to do what was right.

Finally, Emmett got his turn.

"I felt so helpless," he whispered to me. "When that doctor came and asked us our blood types I couldn't do anything about it because mine was different from hers."

I knew he would do anything for Rosalie now, and I assured him that it was fine. He was tired also from carrying her and sprinting across the entire school to the office, and I wasn't going to have him be any more exerted. I felt the sincerity behind his voice, and I no longer had the heart to tease him anymore even after we got through this ordeal together.

I chanced a glance at Jasper, who looked thoughtful. He shook his head slightly at me. It seemed as if he was seeing a new side to Emmett. At any rate, he remained his usual self, quiet and ever observant.

My puzzled thought from before about Alice dissolved as I saw her quickly running back carrying in her arms the most heavenly thing I had ever seen. She was a smart girl, that Alice, quicker on the uptake than the rest of us.

"Here," she said, putting all the contents down onto the coffee table next to me. "I bought a sandwich and a croissant, and here are two bottles of apple juice because you need to drink a lot of fluids." I was lucky that I had eaten before the blood donating, or I would have probably ended up on a hospital bed myself.

With a smile of gratitude for the doctor's smart daughter, I ravenously finished the sandwich in four large bites. Three minutes later the croissant was on its way to my stomach. I washed the food down with the apple juice. When I finally felt some of my energy returning to me, I questioned Alice.

"How did you get back so fast? The line is usually so long."

She gave me a silvery laugh. "Oh, it's easy if you know what to do. It's something called persuasion." She tapped her temple with a finger. I assumed she must have put on her damsel in distress look and probably made the situation seem direr than it really had been. The unsuspecting people must have been taken aback but would have complied; after all, no one could deny such an innocent, sweet-looking girl who made it sound as if her friend's life depended on the food. She had probably managed to cut all the way to the front.

I caught Jasper quietly staring at her with something in his eyes that looked exactly like that of Emmett's when he looked at Rosalie. Could it be possible that Jasper liked Alice…? No, it couldn't be. I was starting to make something out of nothing.

* * *

Emmett's POV

After Edward came back all weak with over a pint of his blood gone, we were somewhat distracted from the current situation at hand. Watching him act out his role as an eating machine worked even better. But once that was over we were once again sitting like robots, without any emotion whatsoever except for the anxiety clearly etched in our faces. We didn't know what was going to happen next. What had Edward's donated blood done? It was high time that I find a means of distraction, so I began the mundane countdown of each minute. _60…59…58…_

I got to 27 on my fourth time when Carlisle sauntered in. He couldn't hide his grin, so we all knew that he had succeeded. We automatically launched ourselves at him and hugged him tightly. He happily abstracted us from him and each other and told us what we had wanted to hear for so long.

"I am happy to announce that Rosalie is in a stable condition right now and she's faring very well, especially thanks to you, Edward—" he direct a grateful nod towards my best friend, "—and you, Emmett. You were the one who saved a lot of time, maybe even her life. You also saved poor Edward here from having to donate even more blood." My dad couldn't keep the happiness from spreading across his whole face. None of us could either, especially Tanya, who had happy tears in her eyes.

"I also have the answer to what you all must have been wondering: why she bled a waterfall. We have found traces of poison in her arm, but none in the head area. This has led us to deduce that only the tip of the knife was coated with poison, since the tip would have been inflicted the end of her injury. Luckily for us, the poison has a slow-spreading but rapid-acting nature, and it was obviously intended to cause one to bleed to death before anything else. We have also been extremely fortunate that there had been no internal hemorrhaging, and—" he stopped to look at us with shock.

If looks could kill, we could have massacred the entire room of people and burned holes through the walls. No words could possibly describe the way we felt now. It was as if we were all possessed by Satan himself, intent on destruction. The destruction of Lauren-fucking-Mallory. Revenge was sweet, and we wanted a taste of it. Badly. We wouldn't kill her, no. That would be too good for her. We were going to drag it out, make her feel the pain for the rest of her miserable life…

Edward's face was deathly white, although it was the paleness that comes from rage. Alice looked as if she was trying to refrain from throwing herself against the wall and smashing her fist into it. Tanya nails actually pierced the imitation leather of the seats, and Jessica had kicked a shoe off and was clenching the other one with all her might. Even Angela lost her calm demeanor. Her hands were firmly clasped together to prevent them from inflicting violence, and the hair that had swung over her shoulders helped to shield her bowed head. Mr. and Mrs. Hale had backed to a corner of the room, whispering rapidly. Their backs were turned.

Jasper's reaction mirrored mine. We were the least reactive regarding physical reflexes, but the look in our eyes revealed everything. All our fury, hatred, and every other emotion we had felt for the past three hours had now surfaced. It was a look reserved especially for Lauren. I hoped I would get to look her in the eye again. She would be drawn in and would drown in the eyes that far surpassed the temperature of boiling water.

Everybody flinched after seeing us. I didn't know what came over me after that, but that simple little reflex action made me act.

"I'm sorry—I need some air," I stated coldly before running out of the room. On my way to the hospital exit I took brisk steps, almost jogging.

And then I was out. It felt like I had been released from my own personal cage of terror. I began to run, paying no mind to where I was going. The freedom that running provided was helping me to forget. I kept going, never stopping, on and on and on…

* * *

**A/N: ****Ew. I suck at the medical stuff. Maybe I should rewrite this chapter next year, when I'm actually _learning_ anatomy. However, I _did_ research a lot of the blood donation part.**

**And sorry for the repetitive use for the words 'bleeding', 'blood', and 'bloody'. :P**

**I _cannot_ believe that I actually FORGOT about Rosalie's parents until my beta reminded me asking why they weren't notified at all. I was like "OH FREAKKK". Thank you! **

**The Emmett-blaming-himself part is starting to sound quite like Edward Cullen as a vampire, doesn't it? :P**

**So, dear readers, any suggestions on what should happen to Lauren before she gets expelled? I would love to hear your ideas :)**


	4. Progress is Made

**Disclaimer: Same as always. Until I can think of a funnier one.**

**In this chapter the POVs will be scattered. Enjoy :)  
**

* * *

Jasper's POV

"Can we go see her yet?" I asked Carlisle anxiously, restraining from whining.

"Yes, you may, but I'm afraid she won't wake anytime soon," he replied.

"Why, Dad?" Oh, the heart that Alice had. She cared about everyone, even for someone she wasn't exactly acquainted with. She would even care about a complete stranger; it was just in her nature. But I suspected that it was mostly because Emmett cared for my sister, and Alice really didn't like seeing her brother hurt. She was such a sweet girl, although she could be quite a demon at times.

Carlisle sighed tiredly. "Although it usually takes two hours for the anesthesia to wear off and thus render the patient conscious, Rosalie will most likely not wake up by then. See, due to all that she has suffered, her mind would naturally protect itself from the trauma; therefore, she will seek unconsciousness for as long as possible.

This explanation was met by an awkward, ringing silence. Surprisingly, my parents still hadn't said anything yet. I think the shock must have finally gotten to them because Mom was now sobbing into her hands and Dad was trying to comfort her. Carlisle excused himself, saying that he had to take care of Rosalie's file and paperwork.

"Oh, Jasper," Alice whispered, coming over and giving me a comforting hug. "I'm sorry." My arms circled her waist and I pressed my face to her hair. Alice's hugs were usually enthusiastic and tended to catch people off guard, but this one was different. It was more personal, very rare, and…I liked it. She felt so right in my arms.

Without moving away, she mumbled, "I'm sorry for what happened at school. I should've—"

I quickly interrupted her. "Oh no you don't, Alice. You are the last person to blame. You couldn't have done anything about it, and I forbid you to guilt-trip yourself about it."

* * *

Edward's POV

I sat there, silently observing my two best friends engaged in a hug. It looked way more intimate than someone just placating her friend; it looked to be more. Tanya, Jessica, Angela, and Jasper's parents were likewise staring at the two enclosed in each other's arms. I was surprised that Jessica, for once, hadn't started texting or calling to inform everyone that she had a new piece of gossip in store for them. Mr. and Mrs. Hale had something in their eyes that I couldn't recognize, but if I took a guess it would have been that they were extremely proud of their son during that precious moment.

And that scene stirred up something within my heart; I couldn't identify what it was, but it kept nudging me, and although I couldn't be sure, I think I felt as if I was missing something.

* * *

Emmett's POV

I didn't know how much time had passed, and I didn't want to; all I knew was that I had to get away from that hospital. It was only the first day of school and something like this had already happened. I allowed my anger to drive me on and on, until I had finally reached a park, with many trees that would provide the much needed shade. I sat on a bench and contemplated. I was so deeply immersed in my thoughts that I could hardly hear the screaming children.

I didn't know how long I sat there, but the sun was starting to set, and it was only the beginning of fall. I assumed that it was 7 o'clock. Still I sat there thinking. How fast my life had changed—going from the tedium of French class to the sudden turn of events that had led me to where I was right now.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I wearily took it out and opened the text from Jasper. He was pretty sharp, like Alice. He knew I didn't want to talk.

_Emmett, where are you?_

I considered ignoring him, but my conscience chided me for being so selfish, and my mind rebelled against me too. _They're worried about you; the least you could do is answer back._ I sighed and replied,

_I'm at the Murrowood Park._

I sent it and waited expectantly for Jasper to respond. Three minutes passed. No answer. Seven minutes later, I heard a familiar honk. I turned around to see Edward in his Volvo, with an exasperated face; it was that face that said _no arguments_. He and I looked at each other for the longest time. He didn't make any move to get out of his car, and I didn't budge from my seat on the bench. We just simply stared.

* * *

Alice's POV

I was worried about my brother. Since the park was only a ten minute drive from here, he and Edward could have made it back with plenty of time to spare before Rosalie woke up, but knowing him, he was stubborn. And when times like this happened he tended to resist. I didn't know if Edward could convince him to come back, and if at all, how long it would take.

We had all been waiting anxiously for a long time for Rosalie to give any indication at all that she was going to wake up. When her finger twitched slightly, we rushed like devils to Carlisle, who reassured us that Rosalie was going to wake in about an hour. Then Jasper nearly massacred the poor keys on his phone in his haste to send the message to my brother. Three minutes later, Edward was dashing to the parking lot.

We now sat, waiting for Emmett and Edward to return, not knowing if they would ever come. If Emmett decided to refuse, Edward would not leave him.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

_For the longest time, all I could see was darkness. There was a little dot of white though, in the middle of my pitch-black surroundings. I strained to go to what I now realized was a speck of light, but I was always pulled back, restrained, by an invisible force. Not liking this force, I struggled a little harder. I succeeded, but this achievement was accompanied by the smallest feeling of pain. Instantly flinching back, I retreated back into the darkness, where it felt alright again. But for some reason, the darkness felt wrong after a while. I lunged again, and this time I managed to gain a little more distance than I had the previous two times. The pain increased, and I flinched. I heard very faint screams from near the light. Why was there this screaming? Were people in trouble? I _had_ to go help them! Forcing myself towards the light, I achieved the same results as before. I surrendered—for now, that is—and mulled over some theories. Was I dead? Was that light a passageway to heaven? No—it couldn't be—heaven was not a place for sinful people such as me. And that screaming from before—no way could that have been from someone in heaven. Why was there all that pain? _

_I was suddenly fatigued. Why continue on with this useless self interrogation? I wasn't getting any answers. I decided to drift back to my comforting darkness._

* * *

_­­_

_That annoying light aroused me. Even with my whole consciousness submerged in darkness, the blinding brightness cut through. It looked very alluring though. It was tempting me to go into it, but no…the darkness was pulling me back…I was in pain…but the light was screaming for me,_ screaming!_ I found myself speeding towards it, closer and closer, the pain, the agony, it was all too much! What was happening?!  
_

* * *

My eyes fluttered open. I was hurting all over, or so it felt. I heard a loud gasp and some shuffling noises, then a gentle slam. I stared at the ceiling above me. It was utterly unfamiliar. Where was I? What was I doing in this foreign room?

Just then, something came into my peripheral vision. I tried to turn my head but found it to be painful, so I just moved my eyes. Crouching over me was a very large person. Who was he? I struggled to remember. Flashes of the incident before my total blackout came back to me, and I vaguely remembered being in this person's arms…

"Em—Emmett?" I whispered, taking in his worried eyes, his slightly open mouth.

"Rosalie," he answered just as quietly. I heard him release a long pent-up breath and I laughed. I felt him gently take my hand. It felt so good—he was providing me with much needed warmth and it felt very comforting also.

"Rosalie! Don't ever do that to us again!" He sounded relieved, and again I couldn't help it. I felt the corners of my mouth twitching.

"Emmett…thank you…you were the only one there for me…I think—I think I would've—" My brain seemed to be going at half the pace it usually did. I felt really slow.

"It's okay. You don't need to finish it," he finished for me, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. My heart jumped at that. The heart monitor responded by betraying me. Emmett saw it and laughed.

"But still…I'll always owe you my life," I tried to say. He interrupted me again.

"No, no, it's fine! Please don't talk like that! I'm sure someone would have done it even if I hadn't." His tone, however, indicated the exact opposite. No one besides him had tried to do anything about it, and we both knew that. We lapsed into a comfortable silence, not wanting to break it.

I heard cheering from outside the room. I craned my neck slightly, ignoring the pain, and I saw the rest of them. My family, my friends, Emmett's friends. Though it hurt, I smiled at them, indicating that they should come in too. I watched them all file in, and the next thing I knew, a small pair of arms were around my neck. It was painless, but the abruptness and closeness of the person shocked me.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" squealed Alice. She then reached next to me to press a button. "Yes?" a soft voice asked courteously. Unprepared, I jumped slightly in my bed, causing immediate pain to my arm and soreness to the rest of my body.

"Is Dr. Cullen available for the moment?" The girl was certainly quick on the uptake. The nurse told her to hold on for a while, and after a minute or two she informed us that he was on his way.

Next to speak was Jasper. "I'm sorry I didn't do anything about it—I couldn't even recognize—" but I cut him off and tried to put my hand up to silence him. My efforts were futile as my arm suddenly stung with pain, but I ignored it. "I forbid anyone to appoint the blame on himself or herself—it's none of your fault. If anyone, you could blame Lauren…or me," I stated sternly in response to Jasper's anguished tone.

Tanya had tears in her eyes. "Welcome back," she whispered. I bade her come over for a hug. I then turned to my parents.

"Mom…Dad…I'm sorry for taking your time away from work. I never meant for this to happen."

Mom gave a strangled laugh. "Oh, Rosalie, of all the things to worry about, you worry about this! You could have been taken away from us, and instead you choose to apologize for our time!"

Edward finally spoke for the first time. "How was it your fault?"

I looked at my hand, which was still encased within Emmett's. I couldn't meet their eyes. "I started it. I told—Lauren to back off and to permanently leave us alone." It took me quite a lot of effort to say her name without flinching. The memories instantly came flooding back, but I stemmed them. I wasn't ready to relive the experience in my head.

"That's hardly your fault," said Alice. Tanya and Jessica nodded in agreement. Angela remained still, quietly continuing to observe.

"Yeah," Jasper agreed quietly, as usual. "It was high time you got rid of her. I just wish it didn't end this way."

"I know," I whispered. Luckily for me, Jasper and I were one of the closest pairs of siblings on earth. We would share everything, including our deepest, darkest secrets. I had often complained to him ever since last year about Lauren, and he told me that the way she followed me around wasn't personal. I found that the more I talked to him about it, the better I would feel each time. Yes, Jasper was truly a priceless brother, one of the few remaining males who still retained a sense of chivalry.

I had barely finished with that thought when my doctor walked into the room. The first thing I noticed about him was his very alert eyes. They were similar to the color of Jasper's and mine, although his had just a hint more of blue than grey, the opposite of us. They seemed to analyze, drawing people's attention. All in all, a perfect face. He could have passed for my father…except for the fact that he looked nothing like Dad. As soon as the doctor had walked in, everyone else filed out except for Emmett.

"Good evening, Miss Hale," he said in a perfectly composed, soothing voice. "Feeling better, Emmett?"

I managed to suppress a start. Evening? How long had I been in here?

"Good evening, Dr. Cullen," I responded as Emmett gave a tired nod. I noticed that Emmett had got up and out of the way. Already I missed the feel of his hand holding onto mine.

"Well, I see that you've regained consciousness quite early compared some other patients who have undergone similar conditions; you must be a strong fighter." I took pride in that compliment.

"Moving on…how are you feeling right now?"

"I…I can't think quite well. Everything takes a longer time to process and my brain seems very woozy. My face and arm hurt and I'm a little sore." I tried not to sound whiny at that last sentence.

"It's the anesthesia. It's still wearing off, so you'll be completely well after you've slept for the night. And Emmett," he said, turning to his son, "I know visiting hours are twenty-four seven, but please don't stay too late. You both will need sleep." Even as he chided Emmett, he couldn't keep a knowing smile off of his face. That made me smile too, although it felt as if my face was splitting in half. I grimaced, which I immediately regretted because that only added to the sensation.

"Oh, yes, about your stitches, Miss Hale—" his words were cut off by my shriek.

"What's the matter?" he asked urgently, leaning closer to see if I had hurt myself.

"Stitches!" I couldn't quite keep the alarm away.

Dr. Cullen relaxed. "Yes, I'm sorry, stitches—it was the only method we had of closing up your skin. But don't worry, they will dissolve in about six weeks, since your wound was fairly major."

"Oh no!" I cried. This couldn't be happening! A diagonal line of stitches—across my face? That was unbearable. The heart monitor began to beep faster. I was advised to calm down. He then checked my eyes with an instrument, then my ears to see if I had a fever or not.

Finally, he concluded his visit by telling me to keep calm, to try to get as much rest as possible, and that I could be released tomorrow in morning, shortly before noon.

"And," he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "You will need plenty of fluids. But of course, Emmett already knows everything about taking care of a patient, so you may boss him around all you want." He left, saying "Good night, Miss Hale. I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

According to Edward, it was now half past eight, and everyone needed to get dinner and head home. _That was an interesting first day of school_, I thought. _Starting my junior year with a bang._ It just came to show me that anything could happen. Now that everyone was positive that I was going to survive, they found it easier to joke around and talk about lighter topics. Everyone gave me a hug, including Edward, whom I hardly knew, and my mom held me, scared to let go, as if I would be taken away from her forever. Jasper gave me a kiss at the top of my head (I didn't know how he could stand it; my hair felt so contaminated) and rearranged my pillows. He was such a loving brother. I was truly a lucky girl, but so was Alice; Emmett was exactly the same way. Finally, after many farewells, they left Emmett and me alone.

Speaking of Emmett, thinking about his actions frustrated me. Why was it that he ignored me when I was trying to talk to him before, but he talks to me now? Was it only because of the accident and he pitied me? I frowned at the thought of that, and once again was caught unawares by the pain that accompanied it.

Emmett took my hand again. "What are you thinking about?" he questioned my scowling face.

I didn't know how to explain how I was feeling at the moment, so I answered with a very blunt question of my own.

"Why are you talking to me?"

He misinterpreted it. "I'm sorry Rosalie, am I annoying you?" He immediately stood up, looking at me anxiously.

I winced at how the question must have sounded to him. "Oh—no—I didn't mean it that way—it was just that you were so hostile before, like the beginning of lunch—" I stopped, blushing. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't believe that I actually did that. I now understood the level of embarrassment I had put him through and why he had reacted the way he did.

"What you have to realize, Rosalie—and I'm going to be frank here—is that you are rather flirtatious. I had never seen you before until today, and I was fairly sure that you don't even know me. Instead of greeting me or striking up a conversation, you went ahead to more suggestive things. I didn't know if it was because of my body—" he had the grace to blush when he said that "—or if it was simply your way of saying you wanted to get to know me. Anyhow, I couldn't be sure, and I didn't want to respond to you when you were like that, so I just ignored you."

"Oh," was all I said. I didn't know what to say at all. The silence was horribly pronounced.

* * *

Emmett's POV

An awkward silence fell between us after her one word answer. I could tell that she was thinking really hard by the way her brow was scrunched up, to be quickly smoothed out as the pain hit. She didn't look bad doing it, like many of those uncomprehending girls did. They would think for about a minute, then they'd give up. She, however, lay in silence, simply wondering. I was kept in the dark; only she knew what was going on in her mind. I did some thinking of my own.

She seemed to have matured so much after the accident; she now seemed to be more like Alice, being considerate towards everyone rather than just the people she knew and loved. And maybe—just maybe, her ego might have deflated by a lot.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

That was the exact opposite of what I had expected him to say. Until now, no one had ever alerted me to the fact that I was flirty…except for Jasper. He had told me so several times starting from sixth grade, but I had always disregarded it, thinking that it was only in comparison to his quiet, shy nature. I guess he was right after all—and that made me realize that he was much more mature than I was. It would do well for me from now on if I started listening to his advice; never again would I take it for granted.

As for Emmett, since he didn't like my behavior, I would gladly change my ways for him. I wasn't going to toy with people anymore, but I wasn't going to wait forever for him either. Life is short; I had to take full advantage of whatever chances came to me. But then again…I don't think I have ever felt this way about another guy before…I didn't know how to explain it…the feeling that I had to impress him…I was afraid to do anything stupid in front of him. I was confused. Where were all these feelings coming from?

* * *

Emmett's POV

I couldn't help but to stare at her face. She now had a series of stitches stretching across, but the sensory organs were left alone except for the taped gauze and the medicated balm on her nose. However, I never saw that as an imperfection that lessened her beauty; it didn't matter to me. She still looked as beautiful as ever. She was a treasure that should be well taken care of—and I was going to do exactly just that. She had been entrusted in my care, and I was going to take care of her and stay until she fell asleep.

"Emmett, how hideous do I look?" Her voice interrupted my thoughts.

"You don't; in fact, you look as beautiful as always." _Did I really just say that? _

She blushed but wasn't satisfied with my answer. "May I see?" That was said shyly. I retrieved the mirror that was hanging on the wall next to the machines and gave it to her. She remained expressionless for the longest time, looking at the addition that marred her features. Finally, she sighed and released the mirror back to me, closing her eyes in defeat. I could literally feel her pain. I wanted so badly to take it away—and some of her ego too while I got the chance.

Instinct took over, and I leaned in close to her. "Please, Rosalie," I pleaded with her. "You don't look any worse with them…" I trailed off as she vigorously shook her head. I advanced just a little bit more, and tried again.

"Come on, Rosalie, it doesn't matter…I'm sure none of your friends will mind—" This time I was caught off guard when her eyes snapped open and she stared at me with a hurt expression.

She whispered, "I know they won't, but it makes me uncomfortable every time_ he_ sees me like this…" She dropped her eyes, but I tilted her chin and made her eyes meet my own. Hers started to tear up, but this was my way of trying to tone her ego down.

"Whoever_ he_ is, he wouldn't mind seeing you like this if he truly liked you back," I stated firmly to her. Even as I tried to resist, I couldn't help but to lean in slightly further. She was intoxicating, but I hoped I wasn't menacing her. Our faces were barely four inches apart now. As if feeling the same way I felt about her, Rosalie had actually sat up straight, oblivious to her pain, and was now reciprocating my slow, intense movement. We couldn't tear our eyes away from each other—I was staring into dark grey-blue eyes that were steadily turning darker. I started to close my own…

_Boom!_ The intruding noise made us fly apart. The door banged loudly against the wall, then it rebounded and swung toward the perpetrator of all that noise. Rosalie gaped and I whipped around, everything from only a moment ago forgotten.

"_Rosalie!_" the shocked voice shouted out. We both stared in horror at the person standing at the doorway.

* * *

**A/N: Who is the mysterious visitor who decides to come visit that late? Did the person catch what Emmett and Rosalie were about to do? Leave me a review and tell me what you think! The correct guesser(s) will receive a special treat! (aka excerpt from next chapter)**

**And starting from today, this story will be put on hiatus until the 30****th**** because I have major summer work for English to do, and I can't afford to get distracted like I did for APUSH, because on the night of the 17****th**** I ended up pulling an all-nighter just to finish it. If I **_**do**_** manage to write a new chapter, then that'll mean I'm either on course or ahead. :)**

**And what can I say to my beta…she totally corrected my misinterpretation on stitches :P And for bearing with me and editing. Thank you so much! Your present for this chapter will be…a pair of VANS of your choice! **


	5. To Ask or Not to Ask

**Disclaimer: If I said I was Stephenie Meyer I would surely be arrested for identity theft. **

**Ahhh okay sorry dear readers! AP Lang totally killed me :( ****So I stayed up the last three days trying to finish it, and once I turned it in and got home I tried to beat my 72-hour-without-sleep record. I only needed 2 more hours and 1 minute, but my traitorous body made me fall asleep. So I only stayed up for 70 hours. Darn it. Maybe I'll beat it when junior year actually _starts_. I was so happy when I turned it in…I was like DONE! And then two seconds later - _:dies:_**

**However, the homework fun isn't over yet! I still have a _second_ part to the APUSH and AP Lang work, and they're both due on the first day of school. So I got a good month left to write. And then school starts. Oh joy.**

**But, ****voilà****, ****I'm back from hiatus!**** And because I left you guys hanging for so long, here's a reminder of what happened last chapter. **

_Boom!_ The intruding noise made us fly apart. The door banged loudly against the wall, then it rebounded and swung toward the perpetrator of all that noise. Rosalie gaped and I whipped around, everything from only a moment ago forgotten.

"_Rosalie!_" the shocked voice shouted out. We both stared in horror at the person standing at the doorway.

**Sorry if this chapter is bad, but my brain is still on overdrive :P ****Très desolée.**

* * *

Emmett's POV

Oh no. What was _she_ doing here? She was bipolar and overdramatic; she was never going to shut up and Rosalie was never going to be able to get her much-needed rest. I quickly glanced back at Rosalie, whose expression said _help me!_

"Mademoiselle Candeur," she said politely, yet with a tinge of annoyance. It sounded eerily like the tone I adapted whenever I was irritated or when I didn't feel like talking.

The French hyena made her way over to Rosalie's bed with much clicking and clacking from her fashion-challenged heels. She managed to wedge her way between the bed and me. Disturbed by the lack of personal space, I quickly moved away, backing up until I was pressed against the wall. Mademoiselle Candeur shot me a curious glance before turning her attention to my poor Rosalie.

"Oh, ma_ chérie_," she started melodramatically. It also sounded like she was swooning. I choked on my own saliva and started coughing uncontrollably, earning me a glare from the woman.

"I was _so_ worried about you. When I heard the _terrible_ news and I found out who it was, the first thought I had was '_Not Rosalie!_' How could _anyone_ hurt a _dear, sweet_ thing like you?" I did my trademark smack on the forehead. _How the heck did she convince the principal to hire her?_

Rosalie looked completely flabbergasted. Although I didn't see why—the woman was like this in class too.

"I'm fine, Miss Candeur. They're releasing me tomorrow." She had barely finished before she was interrupted.

"Oh no, dear, but look, you've got a 'or—_hor_-eebo line of stitches all down your face, and you call that fine?" She was evidently still struggling to pronounce an 'h' sound. Geez, woman. It's not that hard. First the 'h's', and now the 'i's' too?

Rosalie flushed with embarrassment and didn't answer. I felt my hands clench into fists. Some teacher she was. Couldn't she tell that Rosalie was clearly uncomfortable with the whole topic? And she had to rub it in too. The next few awkward seconds of silence were broken by—yeah, you guessed right. The never silent imbecile.

"Qui est-ce, Rosalie?" It was evident by the way she attempted to lower her voice that she didn't want me to hear it. That, and she had started using French. However, I could still hear her perfectly fine. Rosalie looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Oh, never mind, I thought you knew _some_ French, but I guess not," She-who-never-shuts-up said condescendingly. "I said, 'who's that?' I don't seem to recognize your young friend."

"It's Emmett, Mademoiselle." Rosalie answered quietly.

"Who, dear?" She reminded me of a grandma, especially with that tone. Except it the 'who' sounded more like 'ho'.

"Emmett Cullen. He's in the same period as me."

The teacher turned around and eyed me scornfully, now having recognized me by my last name. "I fail to remember," she said snobbishly. Rosalie took advantage of her turned back to shoot the ceiling an ominous glare.

Miss Motormouth opened her mouth to speak again, but my goddess conjured up an exaggerated yawn, grimacing in the process. I knew how much that pained her, but apparently knew it was worth it. Anything to get rid of that leech.

The former jumped in her seat, then looked at her watch. "Oh dear, is it nine already? How time sure flies when one is 'aving fun!" I barely managed to keep in my snort. She thinks this is _fun?_

She got up. "Rest well, Rosalie—I hope you get better soon."

I didn't miss the fact that she purposely walked in a wider path just to intentionally bump into me on her way to the door. With a curt "sorry", she was finally out. I quickly rushed to the door and shut it, then sighed heavily.

Rosalie laughed sweetly at me. "I know."

I chuckled. "First day, and you're already teacher's pet. You've got two more years of dealing with her."

She exhaled and rolled her eyes. "Shoot. I didn't think of that. I shouldn't have answered that question of hers. The problem is, she thinks I like her as much as she likes me. Ugh. Great."

That intrigued me. "How _did_ you know what she said? We all thought you knew some French."

She smiled sheepishly. "Someone told me about it. It's the same welcome speech she uses every year. She always says that phrase, and then she asks if any of us knows what it means."

I raised my eyebrow at the thought of that. Talk about predictability. Not to mention routine.

A yawn came from her beautiful mouth again. A real yawn this time. She smiled at me sleepily.

"Time for the lovely patient to get her rest," I said, rearranging her pillow and tucking her in. Before I could move away, she grabbed my hand. Further pleasure and content filled me.

Faking ignorance, I asked her innocently, "Do you want water?"

The beautiful grey-blue eyes glistened. "You _are_ sweet." They suddenly flashed mischievously. She formed a circle with the thumb and forefinger of her other hand and moved it so that it was slightly to the left of her face.

"Now look through it." A smile was playing on her lips. I had to lean down and over to see what it was that she wanted me to look at. Once again, my face was quite close to hers, something I was very aware of. Before I could ask her what she wanted me to look at, she quickly leaned up and kissed my cheek. I looked at her in shock.

Rosalie was grinning now, showing no traces of the pain I was sure she was feeling in order to maintain that gesture. She released a soft, quiet laugh.

"Okay, enough excitement," I said gently. I persuaded her to drink a little bit of water before settling back onto her pillow. "Goodnight." However, her eyes didn't close. They were staring at me, captivated. I felt self-conscious.

"Rosalie?"

"Nothing," she breathed, finally letting her eyelids shutter those gorgeous eyes. I briefly caressed the side of her face and gently pulled my hand away after giving hers a brief squeeze.

I reached the door and had just turned off the light when her voice stopped me.

"Emmett…goodnight…thank you for everything."

"You're welcome. Sweet dreams. I'll come see you tomorrow." I closed the door quietly, but nearly jumped a foot in the air when I heard whistling behind me. I whirled around and beheld…Carlisle.

"Dad!" I nearly yelled. That was really, _really_ unexpected. "What did you see?"

Carlisle grinned at me. "I gave you guys your privacy." Taking advantage of my relief, he said, "Let's go home now."

* * *

We drove home in comfortable silence. I leaned back on the headrest, closed my eyes, and allowed my mind to wander. It felt so good after everything—it felt so good to finally be able to relax.

When we got in, the first thing I saw was Alice lolling on a sofa, staring at the ceiling. That was highly unusual for her—she usually couldn't stand inactivity and always occupied herself with one thing or another.

"Hey Alice," I called to her. "What's up?"

My sister shifted her eyes to meet my gaze. "Nothing much, just thinking. By the way, I dropped your backpack off in your room."

I started on the spot. I hadn't even remembered about my backpack at all. Wow, I was really out of it today. With a mumbled "thanks", I tiredly dragged my feet all the way across the room, up the many stairs of the curving staircase, through my room, and finally into the shower. Once I got in, I didn't want to get out. I wanted the soothing hot water to rain on me nonstop. The water got cold eventually, and I wearily stepped out. After drying myself and getting into my nightwear, I plopped down onto my bed and dumped the towel down next to me, being too lazy to hang it up. I just laid there and thought, much like Alice was doing.

My musings were interrupted a short while later by someone knocking on my door.

"Come in, Mom." I just could distinguish her genteel knock from the rest of the family's, although Dad and Alice's knocks were just as refined.

Esme came in, handing me several pieces of paper. "Here you go, sweetie." She saw my towel lying there all bunched up and immediately took it, going straight to my bathroom.

"Thanks Mom…" I called, my voice trailing off as I looked at the different colored pieces of paper she had given me. "What's all this?" I asked, not really concentrating on the printed matter but noticing Esme's calligraphic signature on each sheet.

"They're the syllabi for your classes."

"Oh, that's right! I completely forgot about that too!"

She laughed at me. "I don't blame you. You've been through a lot today. Carlisle told me everything. I'm very proud of you." She gave me a hug. "I suggest you go to bed; you and Alice have school tomorrow." She never failed to amaze me; neither one of my parents did. Her job as architect required a lot of concentration; yet when she came home, she shifted easily to her mother role. Although she still did some of her graphic work here, she still remembered all of our needs, even ones that we ourselves couldn't remember. The same applied to Dad. They were the most perfect parents anyone could ask for.

After hastily sliding the papers into a pocket of my binder, I tumbled back to bed. The last thing I noticed before I slipped into sleep was that it was only ten o' clock.

* * *

I was woken by an immense shaking. I nearly fell off the bed as I yelled "OH CRAP! EARTHQUAKE!" at the top of my lungs. All at once, the rocking stopped, and I heard an evil cackling coming from the right of me.

"Time to get up for school, sleepyhead," Alice said seriously. "You didn't set your alarm clock, so I'm serving as your personal human alarm. Now get up or you're going to get us late!" I shot a glance at the clock, and saw that it was only—

"_Six!? _Alice, you DO know that I don't get up until half an hour later?"

"Yeah," came her unabashed, blithe answer. "Except you're going to visit Rosalie today, aren't you? You have to impress her!" That's your typical Alice—there's no use having inner beauty if you're not the same on the outside. I groaned and rolled over on my other side so that I faced the wall. "I don't really care what I look like, Alice, unless I go on a date or something."

I immediately regretted saying that. Forget Hurricane Katrina—I had my own personal Hurricane Alice on the loose. The storm began again. "Emmett, if you don't get off that bed right now I will jump and land on your ribcage." I instantaneously shot off the bed, knowing that she would really do it.

"Let's go to Edward's house."

I turned around and studied her suspiciously. "Why?"

"No reason. 'Cause you're early. 'Cause we can."

She didn't even give me a chance to agree. Snatching my miraculously clean phone from the desk, she had already finished dialing and the phone was at her ear before one could say "what the heck?" Three seconds later, a deep mumbling voice was heard.

"Hey Jazz," Alice said enthusiastically, not at all deterred by his sleeping state. "We're going to Edward's house—be there by six thirty."

"_WHAT?!_" he yelled, all trace of drowsiness gone. "Why?"

"_Because we just can!_" Alice yelled right back at him. "No questions! Just be there!" From cheerful to sinister in five seconds. Talk about absolute power; she'd make a great dictator.

"If I fall asleep in class, I blame you."

"Okay," she replied nonchalantly. "See you." I listened to her mumble sarcastically about how losing thirty minutes of sleep would cause someone to sleep in class.

She caught at me gaping at her still. "Don't just stand there! We have to be out of the house in twenty minutes!"

"Uhh, yeah. And how exactly are _you_ going to pull that off?" And _then_ I noticed that she was already done.

Sighing in resignation, I went off to do my daily morning rituals. After hurriedly grabbing an apple, we made it out of the house by 6:25. Carlisle dropped us off on his way to work. It always surprised me how he had no set time, as long as he didn't get there by later than eight.

Alice was scarily precise with her timing—we arrived at half past six on the dot. Edward's surprised face appeared from the other side of the door, but his mother hospitably invited us in nonetheless. What was with everyone getting up so early?

Seconds later, Jasper hurtled through the door and lost his balance. Alice was conveniently in his way, and he grabbed her waist for support, intending to steady himself. However, his momentum carried him too far, and he ended up toppling on the floor anyway, bringing Alice with him.

Our mouths dropped open so wide our jaws hurt. Alice's already large eyes seemed to double in size, further emphasizing her alluring eye color. I think it was probably due to a certain part of the male anatomy that was pressing against her back. Uncomfortably. My sister quickly rolled off of Jasper, and he nearly fell again trying to get to his feet. His eyes were downcast as he apologized, and I noticed that he avoided me the most. Alice cheerfully started a conversation, acting as if nothing had happened. Edward dashed to his piano to get out of the situation as quickly as possible.

Mrs. Masen offered us breakfast, which we accepted because we couldn't refuse even if we wanted to. Tasting a professional chef's cooking was a huge privilege. Of course, we had all tried a whole variety of Mrs. Masen's dishes, but we would never tire of the outcomes of her work.

Not long after, a somewhat upbeat melody caught my attention. I walked over to Edward to see what he was playing. Not unexpectedly, there was no trace of sheet music or music books. He was extremely committed to piano playing and would usually be able to fully memorize a piece after playing it a couple of times. I waited for him to finish.

"What song was that? That was pretty nice."

"La Candeur, by J—"

"Oh. Never mind. I don't like it anymore. Sorry, it's not you," I hastily said in response to Edward's hurt face. "It's the French teacher's name."

Edward raised an eyebrow at me. He was probably thinking that I was shallow to let a single person shape my prejudices towards everything else that had that name also. In other words, judging a book by its cover.

"Come on, let's go to school."

* * *

It was time for the hour-long purgatory of French class. Being in the class without Rosalie was unendurable, even with my friends there. I was sure the teacher's bad temper towards our class today was due to Rosalie's absence. After snarling at us to turn in our signed class expectations sheet, she went to work ranting about our American accents and how that "will result in a wasted year with us dunderheads because we butchered the language by not pronouncing it correctly". The entire class time was dedicated towards enunciating simple words. Once she managed to get each individual to pronounce it precisely the way she wanted, _then_ would she finally move on. It went something like this, except with a new word each time:

"The word is 'madame'. It is pronounced 'ma-dahme'. Repeat after me. Ma-dahme."

"Ma-dawm?"

"NO!" she screamed. I think she was possessed. "You do not stress 'dahme'! It must be neutral sounding! See, and you aren't even pronouncing the second part right! You are saying it with an American accent! I am highly displeased with you all! I will now call on you individually, and if you cannot pronounce it right, I will make you repeat it over and over again _until_ you get it right. _Comprenez__?_"

We all nodded dully. 'Comprenez' was among the first words we had to learn. She made it very crucial to always ask us if we understood.

And thus, class passed slowly. We were saved by the bell, but we couldn't get out fast enough before Mademoiselle Candeur ordered us all to halt. We were assigned a huge workload. And it was only the second day of school too.

The last two periods of the day after lunch mainly consisted of explaining class policies and getting our parents to sign the syllabus for each class, since we were sent home early yesterday. At last, school was over. Freedom! Now we could all go to Jasper's house and see how Rosalie was doing.

* * *

September flew by quickly. We were hardly conscious about the fact, since the school's euphoria of Rosalie's safe return lasted for quite a ridiculous amount of time. Adding to this cheer was the fact that Lauren was now temporarily in juvenile prison, but all other information was classified and was therefore withheld from us. There was going to be a trial in the near future, but the date was not set.

Rosalie and I had become friends, but nothing like my friendship with Tanya. Ever since that day at the hospital, we had kept our physical contact to a minimum, never going any further than a hug.

* * *

We were alerted to the annual Homecoming dance by means of the large, colorful posters attached to the walls with clumsy blue duct tape. Although many of them contained puns and cheesy jokes, the message was the same—'don't miss your chance to ask that special someone!' followed by the listed prices. The theme for this year was "Let the Sun Rise". Hmm. Our student council was good.

I, of course, knew who I wanted to go with. I couldn't ask, though. It was too forward in terms of our current friendship. _Screw that!_ My rebel side chided me. _Just ask her! If you don't, someone else will. Can you live with that?_ Voice, you're not helping here…

Jasper looked thoughtfully at one particularly flashy poster. "Hmm, I might actually go this year."

Edward and I laughed at him. "What are you talking about? You go _every_ year!"

"Exactly." Huh? What did he mean by that?

* * *

Before we knew it, two days had already passed. We were all stressed out by the immense workload that comes only from junior year. That two days later was also the day Jasper had dragged Edward and I in to help him put his Homecoming plan to work. He had been very secretive ever since he saw those posters, but we never knew that it was due to making up a plan! He told us about it, and we all agreed that it was good, but he refused to tell us who he was planning to ask, which was not normal Jasper behavior. We in turn told him that we would not acquiesce to help him if he didn't tell us.

"No," I said, allowing a broad smirk to spread over my face and my arms to fold over my chest.

"No," Edward said also, mimicking my actions. I glared at him.

"Yes," Jasper hissed, looking like our own personal executioner.

"Well then…yes…if you tell us." Edward nodded in agreement.

"I'm afraid to tell you…" Jasper muttered.

"Oh come _on_," I sighed, exasperated. "She clearly can_not_ be that bad if you've put behind so much work to devise such a brilliant plan. And you've always told us before who you would ask."

"I'm scared of what you'll think of me after this…" Another mumbled response.

"What do I have anything to do with thi—" I stopped as Edward interrupted me with an "Oh!" of comprehension.

"It's Alice, isn't it?" he asked Jasper excitedly. The latter nodded, head down, not meeting my eyes.

"I _knew _it! That day, in the hospital—" he immediately stopped, having blurted out too much.

I started laughing. Jasper risked a peek. "Don't stress too much, Jasper, you guys'll look great together!"

"Really?" he asked, with some trace of doubt still lingering in his voice.

Of course!" Edward answered for me. Edward and I slapped him a high five, and then we went to work planning who was going to do what, so that it could be put to effect tomorrow with minimum fuss. But of course, this was Jasper, and he made us promise to bring dates too, and formulate our own plans to ask them. The requirement for said plans: they had to be creative, foolproof, and they must ensure that the girl would say yes. We, being the good friends that we were, obeyed Jasper Almighty.

* * *

**A/N: Hehe, I just HAD to mention the earthquake. I couldn't resist—did you guys hear about the earthquake in California two days ago? It had a magnitude of 5.4 and was pretty unexpected.**

**My mom wouldn't let me buy Breaking Dawn! :wails: What am I ever going to do? So while all you guys are going to be happily engrossed in the book tomorrow, I will be sadly typing up my next chapter. T-T**

**If you want to hear "****La Candeur"****, it's by J.F****. ****Burgmüller.** ** Search it up! It's a really nice-sounding piece.**

**Now, _dear forever yours_, I know you're reading this. Go do your er, uhm…work! That's right! You made me go do AP Lang, and now it's your turn!**

**_dear forever yours_: :rolls eyes: See? I told you she's gone psychotic. I told you to get some sleep!**

**_Lady Saruman_: Am not! I'm perfectly sane!**

**_dear forever yours_: Come on, we're going to the asylum.**

**_Lady Saruman_: Non! Tu as tort! Laisse-moi!**

**_dear forever yours_: NEVER! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! (Two other side notes from her: DAMN! MA-DAMN! BAHAHAHHA. I HAD TO. /**** HEY EDWARD. I'M NOT GOING WITH ANYONE)**

**And she called _me_ high…**


	6. Iras tu à la Danse avec Moi?

**Disclaimer: Me: Je veux Twilight!**

**Edward: Mais tu as les livres déjà…**

**Me: Oui, mais je ne ****possède**** pas Twilight, et JE VEUX BREAKING DAWN! Maintenant!**

**This chapter is for three people: First, _dear forever yours_, because that was the longest, bloodiest chapter she's had to edit so far, and if I don't stick her name in here she will chop me up and throw me to the wolves.**

**Second, to _ultimategilmoregirl_, because her reviews make my day. If you haven't seen already, go look at the one for chapter five. It's so kick-butt and LONG. :) Fear our rambling power!**

**And finally, for _Minniluna_, just because she's cool like that :D**

**Sorry if the first section on Emmett's thoughts is boring; I think I made him ramble on a little too much. But the rest is the guys' plan for asking the girls!**

* * *

Emmett's POV

The bell rang, signaling the end of break. We had all been sitting on the small flight of stairs consisting of only five steps, chatting. We all got up and headed towards fourth period, just like everyone else was doing. Jasper rushed off with Alice to walk her to her class (it was something he had recently started to do), and Edward had English with Tanya. Ever since the incident, Rosalie and Tanya had become part of our group, and Jessica and the rest of her group had happily went off to join Mike Newton and friends. That was actually a benefit for both us three guys and Alice—we could now drag her to our football games, and she wouldn't have to complain about going alone anymore.

Another good result: Rosalie's arrogance was almost completely depleted.

She and I walked to French together, continuing our group's ridiculous banter about cows and spinach. However, that didn't last long, and I had to change the subject.

"About Homecoming, Rosalie…" I said thoughtfully.

She turned to me excitedly. "Are you going to ask me, Emmett?"

Note to self: Okay, maybe I was wrong. Let the conceit extermination recommence.

But she was right. I _did_ want to ask her, but like I had said before, it was too early. She might not take my forwardness too well. The events at the hospital had simply been a catalyst, driving us together much sooner than what was normal for two people who had just met.

I must've had a funny look on my face because her expression instantly changed into one of mortification, and a jumbled flow of apologies came out along with much backtracking. I immediately started to appease her the rest of the way to class.

Once we crossed the threshold, we immediately stopped in our tracks.

The lights had been turned off by someone, letting the interior of the room be cast in only natural light; the sunlight streamed in, illuminating some parts of the room but leaving the rest in darkness. There were flower petals scattered on Rosalie's desk and in the vicinity.

Most importantly, why was no one here? The bell was about to ring!

Demetri Kydovski, the popular, sweep-the-girls-off-their-feet captain of the varsity water polo team, appeared out of nowhere. I thought he was the only sane person in the class…until his intentions hit me with the force of a bullet train. Great…I got competition. He sauntered straight towards Rosalie, giving me an acknowledging nod as he went.

"Rosalie, will you give me the chance to be who King Arthur is to Queen Guinevere…will you go to Homecoming with me?"

I rolled my eyes. _Uhh…Demetri? Sorry to ruin it for you, but everyone knows that Guinevere's lover is _Lancelot_, not Arthur…_

Demetri then whipped out a bunch of flowers from thin air (the thin air part might have just been my imagination though), and I was glad to see they weren't roses.

Rosalie put on an enthusiastic face. "Okay!" she said to him brightly, her lips curving to form that million-dollar smile. The fiery monster named jealousy flared up powerfully inside my chest. I was almost possessed by it.

I could tell that her ardor was feigned, no matter how well she acted. Yeah, I knew her _that_ well, and it had only been a month. Maybe I was a stalker.

All of a sudden, cheers and wolf whistles erupted from somewhere near the other doorway of the classroom as the formerly missing class stampeded in. They were too busy to notice that Rosalie had turned around and given me a sad, regretful look.

That look internally lashed at me. She _did_ want me to ask her! And the worst part was, I had passed up on the perfect opportunity only three minutes ago. She had expressly stated that she wanted _me_ to ask her, and yet—

I stopped thinking. It was too painful. Was she mad at me now? I knew _I_ was.

Mademoiselle Candeur came in last, ordering everyone to get settled in, but with a smile playing at her lips. No doubt that it was because the plan involved her star pupil that she granted Demetri her permission. Had it been for anyone else, a big fat 'NO' would have been the reply, to be followed immediately with much scolding.

"Come on," I said quietly, guiding Rosalie to her seat with my hand on the small of her back, acting as if nothing big had happened. I was also trying to conceal my hurt and to pretend that it didn't matter to me that she had accepted Demetri. After all, friendship is mainly about supporting a friend's decisions…right?

On our way to our seats I could have sworn I heard Rosalie mumble "_King Arthur_".

The lecturing began. Tuning the teacher out, I started inflicting on myself a series of mind torture. But of course, this class was the worst period for meditating. The French witch took it as her responsibility to interrupt my thoughts.

"Emmett Cullen! Will you kindly tell us what the conjugated form of _être_ for _je _would be?"

"Suis," I said coldly. Thankfully, Tanya had spoken in French to me before, and Alice did too. What Tanya said the most though was "Je suis fatiguée", while Alice would complain with "Je n'ai pas fini!" One did not need to know French to understand what Tanya said—she would collapse in a chair next to me, while Alice would bounce up and down, tugging on Tanya's hand and complaining that she was not done.

Mademoiselle Candeur's mouth snapped closed with evident displeasure that I had gotten the answer right even without paying attention. She exhaled heavily through her nose, reminding me of a bull that had just seen red.

There was only one word that could describe me now: obtuse. Well, Demetri was too.

* * *

Rosalie's next class was on the way to mine. My jealousy caused me to tease her about the dance. It was cruel, but the monster inside me approved and goaded me into continuing.

"So," I said to her. "How did you like the analogy between King Arthur and Homecoming?"

"That was so hopeless. Everyone knows that Queen Guinevere doesn't love Arthur."

The words slipped out before I could stop them. "You could always change your mind…" I said wistfully. Then I could ask her—wait. I was compromising her honor. I must not be so selfish.

"Wait, I never said that. I'm going with someone else."

She looked hurt. "With whom?"

"Well, obviously, I can't go with you, because you're going with _him_." I spat out the words with unnecessary venom. Why was I unable to stop this stream of bitter, irrational statements? I was just hurting her more and more.

"Um, I have to go to class," Rosalie said awkwardly. "I'll see you later." She sped away.

I worried about it all through fifth period, and when the bell rang for lunch, remembrance of what was supposed to happen today brought me back to reality. It was time for the setup of Jasper's Operation Homecoming.

Which reminded me: I still didn't think of a plan yet, much less whom to ask. But first things first—focus on Jasper's plan now, worry about my own later.

* * *

Jasper's POV

It was after school, and we had laid out everything. My parents had happily agreed to the plan and they more than approved of whom I had chosen for my date. Since Edward, Emmett, and I all had our last period (football) together, we zoomed to Edward's car as soon as the bell rang—meaning before the volleyball coach released Alice and her team. We had prearranged to have all our textbooks ready ahead of time so that we didn't have to go to our lockers after school. Of course, I didn't know how Alice felt when she discovered that we three weren't there at lunch. But then again, she had plenty of other friends who sat at the same table as us, so I hoped she hadn't gotten uptight about it.

Four minutes later, we arrived at my house. We had a quick snack while discussing my plan and whether or not it would succeed. I felt that it just had to—it was a simple plan but it had taken me much thought to have come up with it. I then went to the garden and started to select roses of every color along with baby's breaths, the universal bouquet fillers. I took care in wrapping them all up in the crinkly paper that flower shops used and tied the whole arrangement with a wide, pale yellow ribbon. I had to admit, it was pretty impressive for a first attempt.

I was surprised that I still had some remaining time. Alice was usually a quick person. What had taken her so long? I knew that even if she decided to reject me, she would at least tell me—it wasn't like her to just run off without a word. Edward, Emmett, and I all sat in the garden, anxiously waiting.

* * *

Alice's POV

The team and I all sat there listening to the coach lecture us about the upcoming game. He was dragging it way past overtime and fifteen minutes had already elapsed since the bell rang. I didn't know we were going to be kept back; would Emmett and they still be waiting? Would they be mad?

As soon as we were dismissed I ran for my life to the locker rooms. After changing in a hurry, I rushed to my locker and gather my books. As soon as I had opened it, I saw a note taped to a rose. It said,

_Go to our school's fountain, where you will see another note like this one in the west ledge. Follow the directions on there._ The anonymous note was accompanied by a rose. How the heck did this person get it in my locker? I was slightly unnerved, but curiosity drove me on. I decided to take my book with me; after all, I only needed to bring my French book home today, and it was small and light.

I suddenly understood the announcement from lunch. The principle had said to keep away from the fountain for the rest of the day. At the time, I was wondering why, but now I understood. And I felt special that this was done for _me_. The problem was, I still had no clue as to who was behind this.

I walked, almost jogged, to the fountain, and there I saw a note wedged in one of the crevices. Well actually, I saw the rose sticking out first, and it was so out of place that it was what had caused to me notice it at all. This note had a big letter 'O' that took up three-quarters of the piece of paper, and the words on the remaining space read:

_Congratulations! You have found the first piece of the puzzle. Now, the next one is inside the library, on the librarian's desk. _

I laughed. It sounded as if it were intended for a juvenile audience. But then I groaned. The library was almost all the way on the other side of campus. I could tell this wasn't going to be easy.

The second note looked just like the previous one, except for the large 'E' and a different location to go to. The third had an 'I'. I was seriously questioning why the person had given me nothing but vowels so far, but I wasn't going to stop now. I was told to go to some rather funny places, such as the theater's stage and the school's largest tree.

Finally, after the tenth note and nearly an hour of walking around, what was written on the piece of paper was different, but not by much.

_Now that you've found everything, rearrange the letters. After you have formed the right word go to the garden right next to this building. There will be one final note resting on the tiniest bush there. Please do not skip this step and go on to the next._

I quickly spread out all of the letters. In order, I had: O, E, I, G, O, M, M, H, N, and C. As I counted the letters and found that there were ten, a certain poster popped up in my mind…acting on my suspicion about the upcoming events, I quickly placed the letters in their right positions. I gasped and almost flew to the garden in my haste to have my internal question answered. There I found the twelfth rose and final piece of paper. It read,

_You have just found your success,_

_But I still have yet to wait for mine._

_Will you go to letters 1-10 with me?_

_I will be waiting at my garden at home._

It was signed _Jasper Hale_. I screamed loudly. No words then could have described what I was currently feeling inside. It was written simply, yet eloquently. I thought I was going to explode from the overwhelming elation that I felt. I've had a crush on him ever since freshman year, but I had kept it hidden underneath. No matter how I felt, I would always be his friend first.

As I walked through the student parking lot in order to go to Jasper's house, I heard a voice call my name. It was Tanya. Although she and I were friends, she was closer to Emmett than she was to me. She offered me a ride, so I asked her to bring me to Jasper's house, which would be convenient for her. She lived right across the street from him, which was probably why she, Rosalie, and Jasper had known each other for as long as they could remember. During the ride, I called Emmett to tell him that I was coming home. He talked with that annoying tone he sometimes used when he knew something that I didn't. It didn't really matter to me; I was going to figure it out sooner or later. Then…I thought about my ride. It was simply too coincidental for Tanya to leave at the same time I did. The guys must have asked her to stay behind. Stupid guys.

* * *

Jasper's POV

"Well, she's finally coming," Emmett said as he hung up the phone with a smirk. "Edward and I are going to head inside; then we're going to sneak outside and scare the living daylights out of her." He winked. I merely rolled my eyes.

* * *

Alice's POV

As soon as Tanya had turned onto her street, I saw Jasper staring anxiously at us from his garden. I purposely decided to torture him by striking up a conversation with Tanya and avoiding his eyes. Finally, when the car stopped about twenty feet from him, I quickly unbuckled the seat belt and flung the door open. I heard Tanya laugh softly and that prevented me from slamming it.

* * *

Jasper's POV

She gently closed the door, and turned and started sprinting, almost leaping, as fast as she could to me. She finally leaped the last two feet and into my arms, screaming "_Jasper, yes!_" I laughed and hugged her back, swinging her around for a little while before I finally set her down. I then handed her my homemade bouquet, adding to the dozen of roses she had acquired earlier. Her jaw dropped. She was staring at me with so much intensity that I couldn't even blink, much less look away. Her eyes seemed to be black, but they were, in reality, midnight blue.

Like the color of the sky just before nightfall.

It was overwhelming, being lost in her abysses of enticement. But it was magnetic also.

I took a step closer, and—

"_Ahem,_" a voice interrupted. I jumped backwards in surprise, and Alice emitted a little squeak and dropped the whole cluster of blossoms. After sending me an apologetic look, she bent down to gather up her flowery mess.

"Go away, Emmett," she mumbled childishly, not looking at him.

"Yeah, Emmett," I agreed. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you and Edward still haven't done your parts of the Operation yet. Now, shoo fly."

"Does that mean I get to stay then?" Edward asked evilly.

"No!" we all shouted. Emmett dragged him away, saying to Alice, "Don't give Jasper any hickies, please."

I felt what seemed to be a gallon of blood rush to my face, and I was sure I had turned vermilion. Alice started in a terrifying, aggressive run towards Emmett. Then, in all her volleyball glory, she leaped up as she would right before performing a spike, and landed on his back with her arms around his neck and her weight driving him towards the ground. For someone so small in stature, she was certainly strong as well as capable.

"Emmett, shut _up_, just because I said yes doesn't mean I like him that way! And I am _not_ going to do anything of that nature either, so don't get your hopes up."

"Alice…are you sure you don't like him _that_ way? You're very touchy about it…almost overly defensive…" He stopped when she gave him a withering glare.

Emmett raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I was just kidding and I would like to apologize for that. That wasn't nice. Now let me up please." Alice complied and got off from sitting on her brother's back.

After he had agreed with her, Alice decided to agree with what _he_ said earlier. Quite the uncooperative pair of siblings.

"You know what," she said, walking over to me. "You're right Emmett. Maybe I _do_ like him that way." And she pulled me into a hug.

I was startled, but I smiled down at her and hugged her back nonetheless. The wolf whistles ensued.

"Uhh, where's Rosalie?" I asked them hastily, changing the subject. Emmett's faced suddenly turned stony.

"I don't know," he said flatly. "Maybe she got kidnapped by Demetri."

"WHAT?!" I yelled. "Demetri, that Russian guy? Demetri the SENIOR?! Why the hell would Rosalie be with _him_?" Alice flinched away from my hostile tone, but immediately began dialing on her phone.

"Oh, how about because he asked her to Homecoming and she accepted?" He was bitingly sarcastic now.

My eyes widened. "I thought she was going to go with you."

"That's exactly the problem," Emmett snapped at me. "I was going to talk to her about that, but then Demetri was already there with his _stupid_ _plan_ and she said yes. He couldn't even get the King Arthur thing right!"

Alice sighed. "She's not picking up."

I looked at them grimly. "I'll give him a piece of my mind. She _is_ my sister, after all."

"Okaaay," he said, backing towards the general direction of Edward's car. "We'll go find her and bring her home for you." They finally left.

I turned to Alice. "I'm really sorry about that—the idea of my sister with a senior just aggravates me."

She smiled. "I know. I was expecting Emmett to react that way with you too."

"Fortunately, Emmett knows and trusts me much more than I do with Demetri. And I told him beforehand too. Demetri never said anything to me. But, aside from all that…I really like you too." I softened my tone.

Her eyes were shining with love as she took one step, two steps forward and closed the distance between us.

* * *

Emmett's POV

We finally heard from Rosalie when she called me and told me she was at the market. I had been so worried of all the possibilities that I actually snorted when I heard that. The market sounded absolutely ludicrous compared to the worst. And apparently, Alice had left a message telling Rosalie to call _me_, not her. That girl was freaking smart, I swear. She always thought ahead and had everything planned out perfectly; in this case, she would not be disrupted from her time with Jasper by a phone call. After we chided Rosalie and shopped with her for a bit, we dropped her off and picked Alice up.

Thankfully, the teachers had shown us some mercy—well, all except for the French robot of torture (I call her robot because she is disregarding the fact that we were about to drop dead from our workload)—and so my only homework today consisted of fifteen problems for calculus, reading the chemistry lesson, and several worksheets for French. I finished those in less than three hours and went to work on Operation Homecoming, determined to finish it tonight and to put it to action tomorrow.

I reviewed the outline of my idea one last time, and decided that it was ready. It was nothing compared to Jasper's, and probably much less elegant than Edward's. I had made my choice on who to ask: Heidi, a sweet, caring girl whose personality was not unlike Tanya's and whom I used to have a thing for. She was very comely, but after Rosalie, that was all out the window. Oh, and I forgot to mention—she was Demetri's sister.

The thought of Demetri sent a flare of jealous flames through me. I could understand where Jasper's rage was coming from—the idea of his sister going with an older guy led to much mistrust. I would have felt that way about Alice's situation too, but I happened to trust her with Jasper as much as if she was with me.

Esme and Carlisle wished me luck, and they were ecstatic, Esme especially, when Alice told them whom she was going to the dance with. We were very lucky indeed to not have overbearing parents who felt the need to control every single aspect of their children's lives. I often wondered about what my biological parents would have been like had they still been alive. Could they possibly have been better than Carlisle and Esme? Maybe worse? The only thing I was sure about was that I was never going to be able to find out for myself.

* * *

I got up at five thirty to make the pie. Heidi had once told me that her favorite fruit was the apple, so that was going to be the basis of said pie. After retrieving Mrs. Masen's famous apple pie recipe, I carefully prepared all the ingredients and put them into small beakers.

I began shaving the cores of the apples. Esme had kindly made the pie crust shells yesterday night, which spared me from getting up even earlier. I was slicing away when Esme came down and joined me.

"Morning, Mom."

"Good morning, Emmett." She was already fully alert, with no trace of grogginess whatsoever. Wow.

She strode over to the oven and turned it on to 375 degrees. Oops, I had forgotten to preheat it. This is why I never attempt to bake _or_ cook. I just might cause the appliances to blow up one day.

After much distribution of many different seasonings as well as flour, we finally topped our work with the other pie crust. The pie then went into the oven. While it was sitting there, Esme made the family's breakfast and I cleaned the house, having nothing better to do.

Sometime later, Alice bounded down the stairs and was greeted by the scent of breakfast, along with the pie. She rushed to the oven and turned on its interior light, looking at my project browning beautifully.

"Wow! Is that for me?"

"Are you really ditching Jasper to go with _me_ to Homecoming? I'm flattered," I said, faking a surprised tone. She couldn't think of a witty comeback to that, so she went to set the table.

The pie was ready at last. It had been in the oven for almost an hour, and the final product surprised me. Although it would probably look strange, I had decided to use a decorating gel, much like they did on birthday cakes. I was about to squeeze the red gel out to form the desired words when I stopped.

"Mom, may I practice on one of your pancakes?" She laughed and handed me a pancake. I then formed the words 'Heidi is my Homecoming PARTNER!' with the sweet substance. It actually looked pretty good for a first try. Although those words weren't very original, Heidi would've liked it anyway.

After duplicating the action—with the pie this time—I transferred the finished product to one of the transparent plastic boxes specially designed for holding pies.

I then added the pancake I had experimented with onto Alice's pile on her plate. She raised her eyebrow at me.

"It's to satisfy your sweet tooth." She rolled her eyes but willingly ate it, having had no need to top it with syrup this time.

* * *

_Lunchtime_

Our lunch shelter had a stage area, and that was where I was nervously heading towards. After asking one of the deans for permission, I got up on the stage and took the microphone from him and waited for everyone to arrive at their usual spots. My friends' faces stood out more clearly than the rest, since everyone else was oblivious to what was going on.

I spotted Heidi, but she hadn't noticed me…yet.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the whole school was in. I took a deep breath and whistled, drawing everyone's attention. Heidi gave me an encouraging smile. I internally smirked at the thought of what her reaction would be in several seconds. Certainly not what she was doing right now.

"Heidi…" I said, looking straight at her. That brought the color to her face. "Can you join me up here, please?"

She walked on to the stage in a daze, ascending the steps slowly. I waited for her to regain her nerves, then I continued.

"Heidi Kydovski, you have been a great friend to me for years. Will you go to Homecoming with me?"

Her mouth fell open, astounded. She recovered quickly though, and grabbed the mike from me, screaming "YES!" into it. It was not unlike the way Alice had reacted yesterday to Jasper. She then jumped into my arms for a big hug.

I crouched down in front of Heidi and told her to get on my back. She obliged, evidently curious. I then jumped off the stage (she gave a loud gasp of shock) with her as my passenger, and ran around the lunch shelter. I was singing "Heidi's going to Homecoming with me!" while her gentle laughs accompanied my hysterical whooping. The entire school gave us a standing ovation, clapping and yelling appreciatively. Edward and Jasper were at the fore, laughing their heads off. Alice stood there, smiling brightly and clapping. Rosalie was yelling "Go Emmett!" at the top of her lungs, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

After finishing my victory lap, Heidi released my shoulders and dropped down. After I joked that I was the luckiest guy in the school, I went back to my table and handed her the unorthodox pie. She started laughing merrily after seeing the words, or perhaps she thought that it was the replacement for flowers. If so, she was wrong.

I grabbed the bouquet that Edward had cleverly hidden from Heidi, and presented it to her with a flourish, saying dramatically "Voilà, flowers for the lady!" I must've overdone it because her bell-like laughter seemed to be taken on overdrive; she couldn't stop until a full two minutes later.

The best thing about Heidi was her compassionate and trusting nature. She knew about Rosalie and me, and also about Demetri's "meddling", as I called it. Even so, she still agreed to go with me; she trusted me more than enough to know that I wasn't doing this because I had a deeper, less moral intention in mind; in other words, she knew I wasn't using her.

* * *

Edward's POV

_Two days after Emmett had asked Heidi…_

I called Johanna, a friend who lived in a neighboring city. She was somewhat surprised that I had asked her on a "date" on such short notice, and she also was reluctant because it was on a school night. However, her doubts went down the drain and she gladly accepted after I reassured her it would take no more than an hour.

I had planned on using the piano, but this song required a guitar instead, and Jasper just so happened to play the guitar. Luckily, I had always been musically talented, so when Jasper taught me how to play I picked up on it in no time.

* * *

I was back at the Murrowood Park. It was a very refined place, unlike most parks, and there was even a miniature lake encompassed by grass, springy ferns, and a whole variety of exotic plants. I chose a particularly grassy area and set the blanket down. The chair went right next to it. It was now a quarter to eight and it was time for me to set up the lights. They were simply battery operated Christmas lights, but they worked as well as anything. I strung them on the low-hanging branches and arranged one of the string's ends to form the words 'sit here' adjacent to the chair. On the blanket were a picnic basket and a tiny vase, the kind used for holding only one flower at a time.

Sure that nothing was going to disrupt this, I drove to Johanna's house. The bouquet was hidden in one of the rather spacey pockets of Jasper's guitar case, and both were in the car. After exchanging pleasantries and hugs, we were on our way back to the park. I helped her out of the car and told her to go ahead first. Holding the guitar case close to my body, I sauntered over to one of the trees, and with one roll of the switch, the lights sparked to life. Johanna's gasp was audible from here.

"Wow," she whispered. Her eyes were sparkling and lustrous. I saw them traveling across the row of lights, finally ending on the words next to the chair. She sat down on it gracefully and inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air. She then looked expectantly at me; I was walking towards her.

Settling down on the blanket, I took out Jasper's guitar with the utmost care and set it into position.

"Now, Johanna," I murmured. "I have a little something to say to you. I hope you like it." I strummed the first few notes of the familiar song. It didn't take Johanna long to realize what it was, but she remained still and silent.

"_Hey there Johanna what's it like in Fermor Longrow_

_I am somewhat far away_

_But girl tonight you look so pretty, yes you do_

_No star can shine as bright as you, I swear it's true…"_

I continued on with my slightly improvised lyrics. When I reached the chorus, the original lyrics were completely replaced with my own:

"_Oh, come to the dance with me…_"

That part was a little awkward when I first changed the words, but after practicing, it sounded flawless in no time.

After finishing the song, Johanna's eyes were as large as a falcon's.

"Of course yes," she said softly. "How can I say no? Everything is so beautiful…made even more so by what you've done. That was so sweet. Thank you, Edward."

I took that opportunity to discreetly take the flowers out of the pocket of the case, which was sitting behind me, and I handed them to her with a bow. Tears started forming in her eyes.

"Oh, my God, I can't even say how happy I am right now…and I also have to say that you've just saved me from a very annoying guy…" It was true. Her personality drew a lot of attention from the opposite sex.

We ended the "date" by having dinner, and while she gazed at the stars I unraveled the strings of lights from the trees and picked up everything, depositing them into the trunk. Finally, I drove Johanna home, both of us equally content.

* * *

Emmett's POV

Edward told Jasper and me about his triumph for his part of Operation Homecoming. We were slightly peeved that he had kept it secret from us until _after_ he had put the plan into effect, but we immediately got over it when he told us about his date.

"So…tell us about Joanna," I said in wonder. She must be a very special girl to Edward to cause him to do something like _that._

"It's Jo-hanna. The 'h' is pronounced."

"Interesting name. I'm just curious, though—how come you asked Johanna?" Jasper interjected before I could continue on. I glared at him.

"She's one of the few girls who don't treat me like a display at the museum, and also because she's not shallow. Out of those few girls, she's the most outgoing and amusing. I think you'll know what I mean when you meet her—she's a rather good friend of mine. And before you ask, no, she doesn't go here."

"Sure. And since when have any of us _not_ been treated like displays at museums?" I especially.

"You've got a point."

* * *

**A/N: Next up, the chapter you've all been waiting for! Homecoming! WHOO! :) **

**Je suis ****fatiguée****: I am tired / Je n'ai pas fini: I am not done**** / ****Être****: to be / Je: I**

**I feel cruel about the whole Emmett/Rosalie thing. Don't hate me please :( They'll be together in time…so please bear with me for a while. Haha and yes, I DO love throwing in random names...for example, Heidi and Demetri, both from the Volturi (except they're human in this story). It's so you guys can go "WTF?"  
**

**Now, please do me a tiny little favor and give me feedback. Reading your reviews gives me this indescribable feeling of happiness inside :D In addition, _Emmett_ is going to do the replies this time! :D**

**I'm not sure if the song "Hey There Delilah" is overused or not, but if it is, then I'm sorry. I really didn't know.**

**Liking this story? Well if you do, go read "Summers at Midnight Beach" by _dear forever yours._ She's got other stories too, but it's her primary focus. Chances are, you'll like it even better than you like this story. I mean, she's the almighty beta who gave me the idea for this. AND, when her cliffies are revealed, they're pretty unexpected too. Like if you think you got the answer to it, you'll then read the next chapter and find that you are WRONG! MUAHAHAHAHA!**


	7. Homecoming

**Disclaimer: I only own Johanna and my setting. That's why my place names sound weird. Oh, and I own Demetri's last name! But not Tanya's, though, because hers is a French word and is owned by the French language. I make no sense.**

**A special thanks to **_**xx-twilight7-xx**_** for helping me pick out some of the dresses. Ce chapitre est pour toi! :D**

**Emmett: It was great replying to your reviews. I was so happy when **_**ultimategilmoregirl **_**(she replied with an even longer comment than I did!) and **_**Minniluna**_** (who insists on being called Mona) replied back. But as much as I like doing this, Lady Saruman still does not own me. **

**Me: Gee, thanks Emmett, like I really needed you to rub that in my face.**

**Emmett: Truth hurts.**

**Me: Yeah, I **_**know**_** that. You know what? **_**You know what?**_** I'm not letting you do the replies anymore. Take **_**that**_**. :) (Shh you guys know I'm just saying that)  
**

**Emmett: NOOOOOOOOO!**

**This chapter will be DPA (different physical appearance). Hehe yes I made that up :P. And I think you may need to look at the pictures of the dresses (links at the end of the page) to understand what I am saying. I always sucked at describing fancy, intricate articles of clothing.  
**

* * *

Emmett's POV

My crazy sister had somehow managed to get all three of the other girls—Rosalie, Heidi, and Johanna—to go shopping with her. She was even able to convince Tanya as well. Tanya, who disliked shopping. Alice was probably the most social person on the planet—she could communicate with anyone and was rarely ever shy. She and Johanna were already cordially chatting away in less than two minutes after they were introduced to each other.

So Alice dragged them all to the mall, where they probably splurged on their dresses. And the scariest thing was that none of the girls seemed to mind being bossed around for eight straight hours by my little shopping demon of a sister.

When she returned at last, I nearly pounced on her in my eagerness to see her dress. I had no clue why—it was something I did for every dress she bought for a dance. Perhaps it was my protective older brother role that caused me to do that. Alice saw it as something else.

"Emmett, you're such a girl," she said, a bit taken aback by my unusual enthusiasm.

"Come on, Alice," I whined, trying to imitate her always effective puppy eyes. Needless to say, I failed.

"Tch no. You're going to tell Jasper what it looks like. Well, after he persuades you to tell him."

That comment stung. "I can't believe you don't trust me." Then the second sentence registered. "In case you've forgotten, I'm not a girl, and I'm not the one who likes him so much that I'll do anything he asks of me."

"No, I mean haven't you noticed that he's quite charismatic? He can influence almost anyone to see things his way and he's always able to get you and Edward to do things for him."

I had to admit she had a point. Even in my laziest moments, Jasper somehow still got me up on my feet to help _him_ get something because _he_ was too lazy to go get it himself. I thought it was just because I was too nice for my own good.

"I'll show you my shoes though. Look look look!" she said enthusiastically, bouncing up and down with a pair of balance-threatening heels. Unsurprisingly, I saw the word 'Gucci' on there. As for the price, I didn't even want to think about it. It was certainly a good thing that she worked a part-time job on the weekends. Nevertheless, I gaped at her.

"Alice, please tell me you didn't force the other girls to get shoes like those too."

She only looked at me innocently.

* * *

_Day of Homecoming_

The dance was at seven, and the girls came at four (no doubt due to the orders of a certain paranoid Alice). It secretly pleased me that Rosalie had agreed to assist Alice with the girls' makeup, because that meant Demetri couldn't pick her up—meaning he had a lesser chance to attempt anything with her.

I was sprawled over the couch with my legs dangling off its armrest, reading. I heard Alice laugh shrilly from upstairs. What was going on up there? Oh. Wait. She was probably subjecting victim number one to her "elite decorating skills", as she called it.

At five forty-five, I showered and got ready, adjusting my tie to make it impeccably straight. Cologne was kept to the bare minimum; I didn't want to suffocate Heidi…and especially not Rosalie.

It was now six thirty. As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and Alice danced into my room—wearing the brightest yellow dress I had ever seen in my life. It had a revealing neckline (or so it seemed to me), spaghetti straps, and a single sash that crossed one shoulder, making the entire top part asymmetrical. It fell slightly above her knees, and she actually looked adorable in it. Sister-wise, of course.

She had always been quite tan, so her yellow dress suited her and didn't look awkward at all, like it usually would on others. I swear Alice was trying to drive Jasper crazy.

She wore the pair of light grey strappy satin sandals she had shown me that other day. The heels were a frightening four and a half inches high (I had secretly measured them one day when she wasn't home).

The doorbell sounded again and Alice pushed me out of my room. "Go sit with the guys and try not to emanate any of your 'I hate Demetri' vibes please. Oh yeah, and not a word to Jasper, no matter how much he tries to wheedle it out of you. Or else."

I couldn't refrain from shooting her an annoyed look. "Some trust please, Alice."

She grinned, unperturbed. "Oh, I trust you. It's just that you might cave in to his persuasiveness."

"Again, Alice, I'm not you."

"And like I said, he's uncannily talented in getting people to submit to his will." She gave me one final little push.

I went downstairs, and before I had even made it halfway down, my nose started burning. It only got worse the further down I went. Three of the four guys on the couch looked uncomfortable as well. If my parents found the strong smell suffocating, they were doing a good job of hiding it. Not wanting to go anywhere near the couch, I settled for sitting on the bottommost step of the stairs. The guys were talking to Esme and Carlisle about the dance. Demetri looked abnormally excited—I say abnormally because this was far from his first dance—no doubt because of his date. He was currently engaged in a friendly banter with Esme about her title.

"…no, please, call me Esme."

"Oh, I couldn't, Mrs. Cullen. It would be very rude of me." It was hard to stop myself from punching him in the face. Obviously, it wasn't rude if an adult told you to call her by her first name. Get your facts straight, Demetri.

He then winked at my mother.

What the hell…was Demetri _flirting_ with Esme? _Back off from my mom_, I snarled at him in my head.

Carlisle noticed also. He casually put his arm around his wife and gave Demetri a friendly yet dangerous smile that I knew all too well. "That's very kind of you, Demetri, but really, we insist."

I couldn't stop those negative feelings from flowing out now. They were directed towards one person, and ironically, that person was the only one who was oblivious to the hatred I was exuding. What was up with this poor excuse for a guy? I knew he wasn't a player and he certainly didn't have commitment issues, so what was he doing now? He should marry the French teacher and then they could take turns ruining each other's lives.

Jasper flashed me a warning look, but his eyes immediately softened as he fixed them on a point behind me. I twisted around and beheld my sister gliding down the stairs. How did she do that in those crazy heels of hers? I mean, if they were flat shoes, sure, but this was just insane. I didn't get to dwell on that fact since Heidi came after her. And tonight she looked nothing like she did at school. I jumped up and to the side, out of their way.

"Wow, Heidi, you look amazing!" I said, meaning the words. And indeed she was. She wore a brown dress with a shiny silver O-ring that was attached to the vee. It had several folds in the front, and it ended slightly below her knees. She had on a pair of lighter brown heels that matched her dress, and I was thankful that they weren't sparkly and abhorrent. I had seen enough of those on my personal hell teacher to last me for quite a while. She was wearing what resembled a tiara—it wasn't really one, just a thin band of silver to keep her hairstyle in place. She smiled and returned the compliment.

However, she couldn't compare with Rosalie, who mimicked Alice's descent perfectly.

My golden-haired Aphrodite had on a white dress, simple yet elegant. It was a single strap dress, tight at her waist and with very little flare. The strap itself was made of jewel-embedded rings that were all linked together. The dress was stunning, but that was most likely because Rosalie's beauty made it so. I knew that was a biased explanation but I didn't care. Her hair shone with that perfect silky sheen, as always, and she had left it down with the ends slightly curled. Entangled in her mane was an assortment of different flowers, half-woven into a messy garland, but I was sure she had intended it to be that way. It made her look wildly free and as if she was one with nature. Dangling from her earlobes were diamond earrings that fell in a chandelier pattern, and hanging on her neck was a platinum teardrop necklace that hung on a simple chain. The silver heels that the Greek goddess wore only accentuated her height—they were stiletto, but they could not have been more than two inches high. They were also bound to her feet by means of ankle straps. She had managed to make herself unbearably beautiful with only simple attire—nothing was overdone.

Despite all that, nothing could compare to the beauty of her sweet face. Rosalie was an amazingly fast healer, and by six weeks, her scars had already begun to fade. Any traces left of the wound were covered by some type of cosmetic just for that purpose. The mysteriousness of her grey-blue irises was enhanced by makeup.

I heard a whistle from behind me and saw Demetri's greedy eyes roaming up and down Rosalie's body. He looked as if he had won the lottery—and he had. He had been struck lucky the moment Rosalie said yes to him. I, however, thought she could have done so much better.

"Looking good, ladies," he said in what he probably thought was a sultry tone. It was disgusting, and the girls stared him down with their accusing eyes. _God, I never want to hear him talk with that voice again_. I wanted to throw up.

Heidi chose that exact moment to choke. "God, Demetri, what the hell are you wearing? I think I'm going to…die…of that smell…and it's so strong too, not to mention stinky." She couldn't stop coughing. Alice was gagging behind Demetri's back. Rosalie was wrinkling her nose. Tanya was pinching hers. Johanna's clutch served as a mask.

Turning my attention to something less revolting, I noticed Jasper's eyes were fixed on Alice's, and vice versa. Demetri, damn him, had moved into my line of sight. _His_ eyes were focused on a point too low to be Rosalie's face. I felt my teeth clench instinctively. Thank God she wasn't wearing a dress that showed cleavage. Who knew what would happen then.

Heidi noticed her brother too. "_Pig_," she muttered from her place next to me. I laughed and rewarded her with a huge grin for agreeing with me. See what a good friend she was?

_Not asking the girl you like to this dance is a _sin_, _the stupid rebel voice started. _Shut up! _I snapped right back at it. _We can't always get what we want._ It was Heidi's turn to laugh at me. "Internal conflict?" she asked sympathetically. I nodded. Traitorous face. That reminded me…I still needed to learn how to keep a blank face.

I took out the box containing the corsage and the boutonnière. I slipped the arrangement of lisianthus flowers, baby's breaths, and ribbons onto her wrist, and she pinned the single flower onto the lapel of my tuxedo jacket. The others repeated our actions on their partners. I noticed that Rosalie looked nauseated.

And of course, the one thing my mom could never forget: pictures. Esme made us pose in many different ways while she snapped away on the camera.

When we were about to leave, she and Carlisle held Alice and me back. They waited until everyone was out of the door, and then they turned to us. I knew what was coming. They went ahead with the pre-dance talk, and I listened obediently. But this time they added a little more to it.

"Emmett," Carlisle said in a low voice. "I don't trust Demetri at all. You saw what he did to Esme. Please be careful when you're around him. I'll also have to ask you to take care of Rosalie as well. Let's just say that he might attempt to get carried away when he's with her. And," he added, "watch over Alice too."

I nodded; I had planned to do those things anyway. Alice was impatiently rocking back and forth on her heels, which I never knew was possible. Carlisle turned to her.

"You too, Alice. Watch yourself around Demetri. And although I know that Jasper is a good person, you can never be too careful."

This time Alice and I both nodded. "Thanks, Mom and Dad."

"Have fun," Esme said. My parents were smiling relaxed smiles now. The fact that they could trust us made me feel very happy inside.

* * *

The car seating was quite simple: we were going to take two cars. Riding with Edward in his car were: Alice, Jasper, Heidi, and I. The other car consisted of Tanya, Demetri, Rosalie, Johanna, and Alec, Tanya's date. I loathed the idea of having Rosalie with that scum boy, but he couldn't try anything with other people in the car. The arrangement of the return trip was much better—Alice, Jasper, Edward, Rosalie, and I were piled together. It was convenient, what with each of the three pairs of siblings who could be dropped off together.

When we arrived at school, we showed our ID cards to one of the dance supervisors standing at the door and gave her our tickets. She waved us in, and we were impressed with all the decorations that had transformed our gym into what looked like a dance club. That is, all of us except for Alice, who was muttering about how she could have done so much better.

"Aww Alice, don't be a killjoy." The words came from the bastard who shouldn't even be talking to my sister. Alice ignored him. Jasper shot him a fierce look that was capable of burning up Demetri's face.

We were still taking in our unfamiliar surroundings, seeing and memorizing where everything was located. We had come slightly late to avoid the opening speech, so the dancing had already started. Following the end of the upbeat song, the first few notes of a slow, soft song began.

"Heidi, would you like to dance?" I asked, offering my hand to her. She accepted, and off we went, swaying to the music.

After our song, Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" came on, and Demetri asked Rosalie to go with him to the floor. She rejected him firmly.

"I'm sorry, but I don't _freak dance_." And she turned around and struck up a conversation with the nearest person. Heidi and I shook with silent laughter. Rosalie had changed a lot ever since her accident. She now had a much better sense of propriety. Demetri stalked over to the refreshments table, clearly vexed.

After several more songs (some of which Demetri had gotten Rosalie to dance with him to), the student council captured our attention. Heidi and I went to join Alice and Jasper at their table and we waited for the others.

Since our school was unlike others, there was no Homecoming court; it was just the king and the queen, who were announced during the dance, not during the Homecoming game. This was what they were about to do now. A senior from the student council was chosen to declare the winners. Someone named Victoria Something-or-other was crowned Queen.

Demetri's arm had somehow managed to snake its way around Rosalie's shoulder, and she didn't even mind. They were infuriating. _Go to hell, Demetri_…ugh. I hated how he affected me this badly. I normally did not curse people, not even the French teacher. Carlisle and Esme had always taught me to have good morals; and now, because of one person, all that disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Annnnnnnnnd the Homecoming King will beeeeeeeee—" those dramatic pauses were overused. "—Demetri Kydovski!"

A collective gasp ran around our table. Rosalie instantaneously shrugged Demetri's arm off of her shoulder and turned away from him. He was grinning broadly as he stood up and strutted to his waiting crown with his chest thrown out.

"What the heck. He never told me he ran. Jerk," she muttered, but she didn't sound hurt or anything. I couldn't suppress a smile.

"We could all dance with you," Johanna suggested shyly, most likely still trying to retract her timid side. Rosalie's physical appearance really did intimidate girls. Fortunately, Rosalie seemed to know that and gave Johanna a grateful smile. The girl visibly relaxed.

The next slow song started, and Demetri and Victoria waltzed on the floor first. I saw her wince. Couples started joining them. However, neither Heidi nor I felt the slightest desire to go. We kept Rosalie company. After three songs, Demetri still had not returned. It was clear that he did not intend to come back. And the worst part was that he had just left her without saying anything.

When we went to go get some punch, we finally spotted him. Heidi gave her brother the most hateful look she could conjure up. "I can't believe he actually did that," she snarled. "I am so going to kill him. Whatever happened to the chivalrous conduct he was taught?" she hissed through her teeth. Her eyes were glued to her brother, who was now strutting away.

Rosalie looked at her with a new respect. "I don't mean to pry, but do you hate him or something?"

"More often than not—well I don't _hate_ him, it's just that he does a lot of selfish things that annoy me. Like that." She waved her hand in the general direction of the smirking Demetri, who pulled a random girl with him to the floor. I was smiling smugly as well. Excellent. Demetri had blown it. Now I could take over without being accused of stealing someone else's date—he had made the choice when he decided to ditch her. Technically, she was a free agent.

Heidi nudged me and said loud enough for Rosalie to hear, "Hey Emmett, I'm going to go dance with some other people, okay?" Dropping her voice, she added, "Have fun with Rosalie and I'll see you later." She winked at me and waved at Rosalie before sashaying over to Alice.

I repeated the same question I had asked Heidi to Rosalie, and then we were whirling on the floor, with Demetri completely forgotten. Matching my steps with Rosalie's, our closeness—it was all so dreamlike. Unreal. And it wasn't going to last long.

Someone requested for a song. When it started, I led Rosalie outside. That song was disgusting and suggestive and there was nothing we could do while it was playing. Except talk. And it was much easier to do so outside, where it wasn't as loud or as suffocating.

We seated ourselves on a backless stone bench. Privacy at last.

"Hey Rosalie," I began. It sounded so lame. "You look beautiful tonight." How much more mundane could I get?

"Thank you. You don't look bad yourself." A smile was playing on her lips. My heart missed a beat at her praise. How was she able to make simple words sound so majestic and elegant?

"I'm…sorry about Demetri." Only a fool would bring up a subject like that. _Way to ruin the moment, Emmett_, the voice said.

Thankfully, Rosalie didn't look bothered at all. "I don't really care…and plus, I got you. So I guess it was a convenient way to dump him without really having to do it."

That was the last thing I expected her to say. "You were planning to dump him?"

"Sooner or later. He's a terrible dancer. He stepped on me twice," she added, grimacing.

I couldn't help myself. I pulled her in for a hug and she laid her head on my shoulder. It was even better than dancing with her. It was perfection without end. Disregarding the smell, that is. As if she had read my mind, Rosalie pulled away.

"Sorry about the smell. I had to wash my arms with soap and put on a bunch of lotion to cover it up. But my dress though…" she looked at it regretfully. "It reeks of skunk. I think he doused half a bottle of eau de crap on himself."

Eau de crap…what a perfect way to describe the smell. I didn't want our little moment to be ruined by another mention of Demetri, so I hastily changed the subject.

"So…you got me, huh?"

She smiled. "Yeah. I ended up with you anyway. Now _this_ is what having fun at a dance is supposed to feel like. I've said so before, and I'll say it again. If you had asked me I would have definitely accepted."

That was it. I needed to hear her confession right now. "Rosalie…just what exactly are your feelings for me?"

She sighed solemnly. "Do you want me to tell you the truth?" I nodded, waiting anxiously.

She suddenly jumped up and laughed playfully. "Not a chance."

"Man, Rosalie, you suck." I jumped up in pursuit of the girl I liked. She teasingly danced away from me and I started chasing after her. Okay, forget what I said about Alice driving Jasper crazy; this girl was killing me.

We stopped in our tracks when a roar of fury issued from the gym. It was followed by an abrupt silence. Even the deejay stopped the music. We took off again, this time in earnest.

We entered the large building to see everyone gathered in a circle around something. There was a slight gap between the throng, and I headed towards there, guiding Rosalie forward with my hand on her back.

"Hey, what happened?" I asked the nearest person, a small sophomore who was shorter than me by about a foot. He jumped and spoke rapidly, the words coming out jumbled and barely coherent.

"Um, I uh, the Homecomingkingguy uh, was attacked?" He gestured towards the object of attention.

Demetri was covered from head to toe in punch. His white shirt was almost completely stained, and his jacket and pants were going to require some serious dry-cleaning. The agony I felt from not being able to punch Demetri in the face now paid off very handsomely. His formerly perfectly arranged black hair was now drenched in a vile mixture of hair gel and refreshment. The most rewarding thing, however, was the look that was frozen on his face. It was a combination of shock, revulsion, and ire, with shock being the most dominant.

I felt Rosalie's body convulse with silent laughter when she leaned against me for support. I wrapped my arm around her waist, holding her up; heels are very dangerous objects to be in with Rosalie laughing as hard as she was, only made worse by her attempts to stay silent.

The deans were trying to speak over the hubbub of the crowd, but they were continuously drowned out. Having had enough, one finally grabbed a megaphone out of nowhere and bellowed at us to be silent.

"NOW, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?" Dean Karraty yelled. Demetri wheeled around in a frenzy, trying to spot some guilty faces. His eyes landed on my face, which I was pretty sure was twisted in confusion, and he pointed at me.

"There! That's the one! I know _he_ did it 'cause he's just jealous of me!"

"Is this true?" Karraty interpolated before I had a chance to argue back.

"_No_," I stated firmly. "I was outside, and I ran in when said incident occurred."

"He's telling the truth," another voice chimed. To my utter surprise, it was Heidi, and she had a most apologetic expression on her face.

The dean rounded on her. "How so?"

"It was an accident. I was getting punch and when I was walking away I slipped on a paper towel." She pointed at the incriminating object that was lying on the floor not three feet away from her. The cup was still in her hand. Wow. Who would have thought sixteen ounces could be capable of doing a lot of damage? But our counterexample was right in front of our eyes: a fuming, messed up Demetri.

The aggravated dean turned to the rest of us, demanding to know who was responsible for "littering and causing an unfortunate young lady to slip". As soon as he had turned away from her, Heidi caught my eye and winked. That nearly sent me into another round of laughter. I nudged Rosalie from behind and breathed "Heidi" into her ear. I shouldn't have done that. Heidi gave her a wink too and Rosalie instantly started choking and attempted to pass her fit off as coughing; it _was_ flu season, after all.

Karraty looked relieved and began to disperse the crowd. Demetri glared at his sister balefully before stomping off to the restroom. As soon as he did, Heidi skipped over triumphantly.

Rosalie and I attacked our heroine with tight hugs. Rosalie joked that she was now 'avenged', and Heidi said that it was her 'duty' to make her brother pay. At least he didn't smell so bad anymore.

"You so did not trip, Heidi," Rosalie said gleefully.

"I know! I dumped it right on his head!" Heidi responded just as excitedly. They started jumping up and down while hugging each other. I waited for the fall, but it never came.

"He's going to give you hell though…" Rosalie fretted, something she would not have done a month ago.

"Yeah, he will, but not as much as my parents will give _him_ when I tell them just exactly what he did." She beamed. "And in fact, I really couldn't care less if he stays mad at me for the rest of his life. He might try to get revenge on me, but I'm not really concerned about that at the moment."

Speaking of concern…oh crap. Where were Alice and Jasper?

After a several minutes of desperate searching, I found her…standing with the deejay. Oh no. What was she up to now?

A sweet, unfamiliar melody reached my ears and Alice said through the deejay's mike, "I call this the Emmett and Rosalie song! Now dance, you two! Everybody dance along!" It was random but embarrassing.

Half the people were staring at us expectantly, waiting for us to start dancing, so I wrapped my arms around Rosalie and we started swaying. The spectators now followed our lead.

The dance continued up till midnight. We had our group dance. And don't forget about the partner pictures and the group ones. When we finally piled into the cars, we were tired but blissfully happy, especially Alice and Jasper, who I guessed had made some progress with each other. The last I had seen of Demetri was when he had nearly tried to tear his hair out, literally. That was when Alice had decided to embarrass Rosalie and me. I had no clue whom he got a ride home from, because Alec's car wasn't crowded anymore.

That was the best dance I had gone to so far. Had it not been for Demetri, I wouldn't have had all that time with Rosalie. His actions had also opened Rosalie's eyes to the fact that he was a plain jerk. Basically, Demetri had made my day—or rather, my night. It had turned out to be more enjoyable than I had ever expected.

Which reminded me: I would have to thank Demetri on Monday for that.

* * *

**A/N: ATTENTION! BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL BEEN SUCH GREAT R&RERS, THIS IS A FREE CHOICE CHAPTER! THAT MEANS YOU CAN REQUEST WHOMEVER CHARACTER YOU WANT TO ANSWER YOUR REVIEW :) And I'm giving you guys an extra treat. So not only will the characters answer your questions/reviews, but they will do it CONVERSATION STYLE! And also, because I feel bad for not having updated for so long, they will give you a PREVIEW of a scene from the next chapter. Today's your lucky day :D**

**My excuse for taking such a long time: The Olympics are sooo interesting! I can't stop watching so I'll be writing wayyy slower than usual. Not to mention commercials are only a minute long. And the schedule is from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m., so I'll basically be watching TV the whole day. But I'll still write :D**

**Did anyone see the men's 4 x 100 Relay? The French said they came to "smash the Americans", but we won them by 0.04 seconds. And then the 4 x 200. Haha we beat everyone by half a pool. It was hardly fair. And we created a new world record there too :) And then today. Oh my gosh. Phelps beat Cavic of Serbia by 0.01 OF A SECOND. Amazing. And everyone thought Cavic was going to win ****'cause he was ahead the whole time, but somehow Phelps just _threw_ himself to the wall and his fingers touched first. ****WE DOMINATE THE POOL AND AT VOLLEYBALL! MUAHAHAHAHA!**

**And at last. Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson won gold and silver. We finally beat China. MICHAEL PHELPS GOT HIS 8 GOLD MEDALS!!  
**

**One last thing: GO TEAM U.S.A!**

**_Links_**

**To see the dresses, I'****ve posted them all on my Freewebs site. Click on my author profile on this site, then click on** **'****Homepage'**** at the top left corner. Once you'****ve gotten onto the Freewebs page, you'****ll know how to get to the pictures from there :D**

**So school is starting in less than three weeks. I think I'll only be able to get one more chapter in because ****don't**** forget, I still have the last part of my summer work to do.**

**THE BETA RULES MY LIFE. I feel so evil for making her edit this when she's at the Sequoia and the Yosemite National Parks for a little vacation just before school starts for her. So merci beaucoup. x3  
**

**Wow. My longest A/N yet. I should shut up now. If you made it all the way down here then you are simply AMAZING.**


	8. The Trial and High School Drama, Part 1

**Disclaimer: Thank you to Stephenie Meyer for all her wonderful characters for us to have fun with :)**

**OKAY, OKAY, I'M SORRY! I just made a spur-of-the-moment decision: to split the one chapter into two, because if I didn't, it would be like 15 pages. So that also means the preview I gave you in the reply would be for next chapter.**

**My worst suspicion has been confirmed: I am indeed losing my touch. And of course, the blame is to be put on the universal source of misery: SCHOOL.**

**But here's a recap of last chapter just in case you all forgot what happened. After all, it's been over two months. Looking at the chapter title helps too.**

_That was the best dance I had gone to so far. Had it not been for Demetri, I wouldn't have had all that time with Rosalie. His actions had also opened Rosalie's eyes to the fact that he was a plain jerk. Basically, Demetri had made my day—or rather, my night. It had turned out to be more enjoyable than I had ever expected._

_Which reminded me: I would have to thank Demetri on Monday for that._

**

* * *

**

Emmett's POV

It was Monday morning. I was trying to find Demetri. No matter how much I hated him, I was going to thank him…and gloat in his face. Just a little, though. I wondered how long it would take for me to find him in this mass expanse of concrete and grass that is our school.

First things first, though. As much as I was capable of doing so, carrying my textbooks any longer than was necessary was quite bothersome.

I proceeded to my locker alone, since Alice had ditched me once we entered the school's gates. When I entered the hallway of lockers, my initial task was simplified when I spotted Demetri lurking nearby.

He saw me too. "Yo, Emmett." Apparently, he must have left the dance before he saw Rosalie and I dancing to Alice's wicked song.

"Demetri," I answered carefully.

"Sorry for accusing you for messing me up with the punch."

"No harm done."

"So did you have fun with Rosalie?" So he did know.

I sidestepped the question. "Why did you ditch her?"

"Oh, come on," he complained. "It's a dance. And plus, I'm a senior, so I want to dance with as many pretty girls as possible before I graduate. I can't just keep dancing with the same person, even if she _is _my date."

My annoyance with him was simmering. "Even so, but don't you think you should have at least _said something?_"

Demetri shrugged. "I don't think she even minded much."

I wanted to punch him in the face. He was completely missing the point here.

"Anyways," he continued on, "Rosalie is my first conquest, but I also met this other girl at the dance that I really like too. Her name is Isabella Swan, and she's in your grade. She's partly Italian. Do you know her?"

Yes, I knew her. Who in our grade _didn't_ know her? She was the generically popular girl who was as conspicuous as Rosalie (which still makes me wonder how I have never noticed Rosalie before). She had a very good sense of propriety, yet the way she dressed was very questionable. She was also filthy rich. She never wore her clothes more than twice, but she also donated much of that horde of money to charity and good causes. She was polite, not at all snobby; she was just like the rest of us: decent and normal.

Another plus: she was quite good-looking. Even better: she scorned the use of excessive makeup. So then why did she dress so eccentrically?

"Emmett?" He interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you. I do know her."

It wasn't a surprise to me that Demetri liked her. But I wondered if he liked her for _her_ or for her body. Probably the latter. He was such a pimp!

"Anyways, I have to go. I'm going to be late for class," I lied. I had to get away from him as fast as possible. I strode down the hallway, abandoning my trip to my locker until he went away. I heard his "wha…?" of confusion.

Wow. I was such a failure. I didn't rub Saturday's victory in his face. I hadn't even managed to go to my locker.

I was also supremely pissed. Who knew Demetri would be that rude, to speak of girls as conquests? He had changed a lot from last year. He was now simply detestable.

I wondered if I should warn Isabella about him, but I decided she could take care of herself.

* * *

_Brief scene from French class_

"Potato: une pomme de terre. Demetri, why don't you start the repeating?" Thank God, it was the last word of the lesson.

"Uh…pom de tare?"

"NO! LISTEN, WILL YOU?! It's _poam de terhh-e! __You swallow the 'r's'! How hard is that to understand?!_"

I heard many of my peers ask each other how they were supposed to swallow their r's.

She flung her arms up violently. "Ai! J'en ai marre! You are a very, very hopeless class! All of you are bad learners! Except for Miss 'Ale, of course." She beamed at her pet for a moment. I had never met a teacher who was so blatant with her biases and preferences.

"Okay, class! Interro demain! Il faut étudier!" We kept silent until finally, the bell took pity on us. We tripped over each other trying to get out of the door first. After we all did, everybody groaned in unison, with the exception of Rosalie. I don't know if I did or not.

"A quiz?! That adds to my total of three now!" someone complained.

"_Il faut_ _étudier,_" Candice Alamore imitated the teacher in a false, screechy voice. "No freaking duh! How can we _not_ study?"

Rosalie only looked amused at her peers.

I didn't need to study, but I wasn't about to look like a conceited person and say that to them. I simply left for my next class.

* * *

_After school, at Emmett's house_

_Dear Mr. Emmett Cullen:_

_The trial concerning Miss Rosalie Hale and Miss Lauren Mallory is to take place next Monday, on October 28, 2006. It is scheduled for 4:00 pm. I have been doing much work with Miss Hale; she is my primary witness. However, you and your father, to whom I have sent a letter also, are required as witnesses too. It will definitely make my case much stronger and…_

The letter seemed to go on and on. Dread filled me. I knew I was going to be a witness, but no matter how much I had prepared myself for this, I was very much unready.

I looked at the bottom of the page. It was signed, _Jacob Black_. Very renowned, very adroit. He worked around his opponents before taking them head-on.

Surely Rosalie didn't need such a powerful lawyer. I don't think there was a single person who was going to stick up for Lauren Mallory in the school, so whoever her lawyer was, he was not going to get very supportive witnesses from our school.

I took partial solace from the fact that I was not going to be the only one in my family to testify—Carlisle was a crucial factor towards this case. The thought of going to the stand made me horribly nervous. I had never been more afraid in my life, because I knew every word I said would impact the decision of the jury.

I returned the expensive parchment back to its envelope and passed the time doing homework while waiting for my dad to come home.

* * *

_Monday, October 28, lunchtime_

"Rosalie? Are you ready for this afternoon?" I asked her tensely. I wish I could keep as calm as she did; I had been panicky for the past two days, jumping every time someone called me by name. Of course, that distraction gave my French teacher a perfect opportunity to pick on me.

"No, of course not," she answered, unruffled.

"But you act so calm and everything—"

"Exactly. You said it yourself. It's nothing more but acting. If only you knew what a bundle of nerves I am on the inside…"

"I may actually be feeling worse than you."

"I highly doubt it," she said unhappily. "This is getting to be a lot more trouble than it's worth."

"Never say that, Rosalie," Jasper stated firmly. "Lauren deserves this trouble."

"Yeah, Jasper, but what about _us? _Look and Emmett and Dr. Cullen! They got dragged in too! All because of me!"

"No, Rosalie, I don't mind testifying…" I mumbled. She shot me a killer look at the obvious lie.

"Gosh, just go away, Jasper, you're disturbing the peace." Alice tugged him away. I think heard her say "Give them some alone time", but I may have just changed the words in my head.

* * *

_3:59 pm_

The bailiff led Lauren in the room and to her corresponding place.

She looked terrible with her filthy, chipped nails and her haggard appearance. Her hair was tangled and had lost all its sheen. Despite all she had done to Rosalie, and no matter how much she deserved it, I couldn't help but to feel a twinge of pity for her.

_Binnng_…the grandfather clock located somewhere within the building started to chime, signaling the start of a new hour. It was clearly audible from our courtroom.

_Binnng_…the the bailiff bid us all rise just before the judge swept in from another room. The doors to the courtroom were closed.

Fifth chime…I turned around and glanced nervously at everyone in the audience stands, and then at Rosalie. She was standing tensely, her back as straight and as stiff as a pole. I, along with Carlisle, was in the "enclosure" that was also occupied by the many witnesses Rosalie's lawyer had very thoroughly "conjured" up, including a terrified-looking Jessica, and Angela, who kept her mouth firmly set and the rest of her features blank.

I fleetingly peeked at my father out of the corner of my eye. His face lacked any trace of nervousness. He exuded calmness. Likewise, Jacob Black looked very confident with himself. But that was probably because in Carlisle's case, there was no one's life at stake now. As for Jacob…there was a reason for his superb reputation.

As the echoes of the last chime faded away, the judge cleared his throat. The gavel was unneeded; the room was already piercingly soundless. The judge mentioned something with the word 'honor' in it, then…

"The court is now in session. You may be seated." Cacophony ensued as people settled onto the hard wooden benches that would be their seat for the next few hours.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today in regard to the case of the state of Pollex versus the defendant, with the crime having been committed within the state…"

Already I could not concentrate. I could feel my collar grow uncomfortably tight, but I resisted the urge to pull it forward. Or to do anything, for that matter. I was even almost afraid to breathe, fearing it would be too loud. So I took to observing people's attire instead.

Most of the men wore the classic suit-and-tie ensemble—nothing special there. However, Jacob looked different. Perhaps it was the way he held himself, but it seemed as if his suit was very sharp and as if it had a certain…crispness to it. He wore an indigo-colored tie. His choice of dress fitted him perfectly; it had certainly made a good first impression on me. He just seemed to stand out from the rest of the people; he was like the only wearer of white amongst a crowd of people in black.

How could I do this? What if I failed and messed up everything? What if—

Dead silence. The introductions and formalities were over.

* * *

**A/N: I wish I had that book I read in freshman year, called ********Inherit the Wind****. It was a play about a famous trial, although they replaced the characters. That book would've helped loads when I was writing this chapter. ****But then again, I **_**am**_** doing a trial on Monday for the play **_**The Crucible**_**.**

**I couldn't think of a name for the state, so I named it after one of the anatomical terms for our body parts :) See if you know what it is :D**

**Reason for lack of update: SCHOOL. And I started a new story. I invite you all to read it. It's called **_**Anything for You**_**, and it's an Alice and Jasper fic.**

**Please review. I've struggled very much to write this chapter in the midst of all my schoolwork. And plus, since I've got Part 2 done, it's sitting there waiting for YOU guys. So, depending on the number of reviews I get, you'll get Part 2 either tomorrow or Monday. Thank you for reading! Oh, and please, PLEASE don't give up on this story T.T **

**So my previous French teacher retired. And now this new one is very…bleh. She's almost the same as my beta's French teacher now: she seems to have no sense of humor, and she doesn't know that much English. Once, when we were taking body parts quiz, she thought our fingers were called toes too. She basically she called them 'hand toes' and 'foot toes' until we corrected her :P So I will desperately hold onto the memories I had from my former French teacher to write this story.**


	9. The Trial and High School Drama, Part 2

**Disclaimer: Je ne possède**** pas Twilight. ****C'est très évident.**

**I HAVE SOME ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO MAKE! So these are the people who helped me with this chapter and prevented it from the crash and burn fate.**

**First, to my beta, **_**dear forever yours**_**, who calls me about 50 times a day and keeps me company :) I love talking to you on the phone. :D  
Second, to **_**equestrienne326,**_** who clarified for me a LOT of confusing stuff.  
Third, to **_**Xo-ILoveEdward-oX, **_**because I used a chapter she wrote as reference.  
And fourth, to **_**xx-twilight7-xx**__**, **_**whom I talk to almost every day. And who gave me ideas.  


* * *

**Emmett's POV

The first thing to occur was the "swearing in" of the jury. I noticed that they weren't asked to swear the God-oath. Only affirmation was required. In my opinion, that was all for the better, since I wasn't too happy with having to put my right hand over the Bible and swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God.

As always, the prosecuting attorney started first. Jacob, already standing, started on his opening statement right away. He apparently was not one for wasting time. He began his speech magnificently and continued on with so much passion that I hoped they would forget about the trial and just chuck Lauren back into where she belonged.

When it was time for the defense attorney's speech, I paid strict attention to his ramble, listening carefully for just exactly what he was going to say in an attempt to prove Lauren's innocence. I didn't find it delivered with much conviction.

The next thing I knew, it was Jacob's turn again and he had called up Rosalie as his first witness. She, too, was only asked to affirm that every one of her statements were nothing but the truth. She was asked to state her full name, and she did so with unfaltering clarity. How did she manage that? It was _court_, not a class presentation.

Jacob began the questioning without preamble.

"To begin with, Miss Hale, have you given Miss Mallory any reason at all to hurt you?"

"Objection! Mr. Black is badgering the witness!" the defense attorney called sharply. I didn't see how that was harassing. By the looks of it, he did not have much experience. He was probably a state-appointed lawyer for Lauren.

Judge…Pascal, I think it was, raised an eyebrow at the DA. I guess he felt the same way the rest of us did. Nevertheless, he did his duty.

"Mr. Black?" the judge questioned.

"The point will be gotten across after several more questions, Your Honor."

"Very well. Overruled," His Honor decided, his eyebrow settling back from its much too high position on the forehead.

But unfortunately, that little "confusion" had gotten Rosalie flustered. Jacob had repeated the question to her and she wasn't sure how to answer.

"Yes—I mean no—I mean possibly…" That statement did not bode well for her. It seemed Jacob would have additional work to do. Already the case had begun with a rocky start.

"Miss Hale, I would like you to please recount exactly what happened on the day of the incident."

She reeled off her story, thankfully leaving out the embarrassing flirting part. After several more questions and Jacob's assessments, we could all see where he was going. _Have fun countering that, DA,_ I thought, satisfied.

"No further questions, Your Honor," Jacob said respectfully and stepped back. The judge then asked the DA if he wanted to question Rosalie too. He nodded and walked forward.

"Miss Hale, do you know if Miss Mallory attacked you with the intent to kill?"

"No. I do not know."

"Well, then, why did you say what you did to cause her to harm you?"

"I…I just couldn't take it anymore."

"Take what?" the judge stared at her keenly.

Jacob's eyebrows pulled together into a frown. I wondered if I was going to be questioned as mercilessly when my turn came.

"I couldn't tolerate her behavior towards us and she often bothered us." Even I had to admit, Rosalie's reasons did not sound very convincing. I looked over at the panel of jurors. They were feverishly scribbling down notes with various looks of concentration on their faces.

However, Rosalie's vague responses were not very damaging, since the DA's questions became more and more far-fetched. Jacob objected to most of his questions, and the judge sustained almost all of those objections.

As I had predicted, it didn't take long to get to the subject of Rosalie's injuries. That was when Carlisle got called up. As he spoke his part laced with many complex medical terms, we all got lost. The jurors who were attempting to copy down all the words quickly gave up—not that it was a long speech anyway.

"In plain English, that just means that there was extensive external bleeding but not as much internally—at least, not enough to cause fatal damage. The poison was slow-spreading but it acted very quickly," Carlisle translated.

"Oh," was the defense attorney's _very_ brilliant response. I swore I saw the smallest hint of a smirk on Jacob's face.

After that, my father was stuck on the stand for quite a time while both sides eagerly used him as a live medical version of Wikipedia.

Finally, the judge called an end to the questioning, telling the two attorneys to continue tomorrow. Looking at the clock, I discovered that we had only been here for three hours. I had been so captivated that I had lost track of time.

As we all bid our farewells and were leaving, I saw Rosalie smack her own forehead, and I heard her utter softly, "What the crap?"

* * *

_Tuesday, October 28, lunchtime_

"Hey, Emmett, can I borrow your calc book?" Rosalie asked randomly in the middle of our meal.

"Where's yours?"

"Left it at home."

"Ah. Forty-two twenty-five thirty. You know which one it is, right?"

"Okay, crap. Be right back!" I heard her repeat the three numbers over and over again as she ran to my locker.

Five minutes later, Alice worried about the fate of Rosalie aloud. "Why's it taking her so long? Your locker isn't even that far from here."

"She probably got lost at first," Jasper said. "Maybe you should go help her."

I walked over there, wondering what on earth Rosalie could possibly be doing. I rounded the corner and immediately stopped dead in my tracks.

What I saw made my blood run cold.

My calculus book was on the floor, but the sight of the new textbook getting grimy wasn't what incensed me. It was the sight of Demetri pressing a struggling Rosalie up against the row of lockers that made me see red.

Rosalie shoved him violently away and launched her fist at his nose. Immediately blood started spurting out. He tried to stem the flow of it; he clearly did not expect someone like her to have the strength to inflict that much damage. To be honest, I didn't either.

"Don't you ever touch me again, you sorry bag of rapist shit! If you do you'll find yourself on trial like Lauren is right now!"

I stepped in. "Excuse me," I said in a tone that could've frozen him up. "I do believe that's my locker you were assaulting Rosalie at. So get your ass away from here before I get a dean. And next time you decide to attack someone's face, you'd better have their permission to do so."

Demetri laughed coldly at me. "You think that you can take me on just because you're all brawn? Well I say I can beat you any day." He aimed a right hook at me, but for a water polo captain he was horribly off. His fist smashed into a locker instead and he winced in pain. He instantly recovered, though, and his next attack was flying right towards my face.

I instinctively dropped towards the ground. My head slightly banged against the knob, but it didn't hurt that badly. Above me, I had the locker's loud protest, a sharp crack, and Demetri's bellow of pain; all three occurred almost simultaneously. The blood ran freely down his hands and wrists as he cradled his damaged hand with the other. _Not so handsome anymore, are you, water polo captain?_

"_Damnit!_" he yelled. "Why can't you just leave us alone?! It's not like you even like her anyways! You just like her physically!" Rosalie's shocked eyes accused and questioned me.

"Excuse me? I believe that was _you_," I shot back at him furiously. "And assuming it's true, why would I tell _you_, of all people, that?"

"Because Rosalie said the same thing at the dance!"

"_What?!_" she shrieked. "I didn't!"

"Yeah, well, at least I didn't smell like skunk spray on the day of the dance!" I countered.

"It smelled perfectly fine! Rosalie liked it!" he yelled.

"Stop making all this bull up!" she yelled at him. "You're a very truculent person, you know that?"

"Ever heard of 'too much of a good thing makes a bad thing'?" I asked Demetri sourly.

"I'm telling you, it's not too much!" Funny how we got sidetracked to something as trivial as cologne.

Rosalie added her voice to the cacophony. "It doesn't matter what you think, stupid. Trust a girl's opinions. You should've listened to Heidi when she said you stank. What's more, I hate how you refer to me as a 'conquest'. I'm a _person_, for heaven's sake, not something to be seized! And if you ever thought about it, if your cologne didn't already drive me away, your dancing certainly would! Did you know, you ruined my foot, toes, _and_ toenails! Do you realize—"

Demetri cut her off. "Then maybe you girls shouldn't spend so much time over pedicures and crap! I never understood why it made a difference!"

"Both of you, just shut up!" I yelled. "You know what, just forget it. I'll leave you two to settle your own problems." I turned to Demetri. "You'd better get your hand, wrist, and nose fixed without seeing the school nurse first, because in the end the trouble all goes back to you. You're the one who started it. If you were smart, you would not bring this up. I don't know about Rosalie, but if you're lucky, she won't report you for sexual harassment. And I thought you said you liked _Isabella Swan_."

I turned on my heel and walked away. I heard Rosalie rush up from behind.

"Oh my God! Emmett, are you okay?"

"Never better," I replied with biting sarcasm. I stalked into the nearest boys' restroom to escape her.

* * *

That afternoon, I wanted to skip going to the trial, but I obviously couldn't. Who knew how the events would turn out, and when I would be needed to testify?

Damn it all. Damn my involvement in things that weren't my business. Yet I could never regret rescuing _her_. Had I ever been this conflicted before? No. No, I hadn't.

Wait…what were they currently saying?

Oh no, no, no…please don't discuss that today…discuss tomorrow or something…please…

_The sooner you testify, the sooner you'll get it over with_…was I schizophrenic or something? Here I am, with that Voice in my head telling me what to do…

The Voice won the battle. Jacob called me to the witness stand. I stood up.

_Oh my God. Oh freak. Oh crap. I'm going to die. Damn it._ I kept repeating such phrases in my head as I walked to the stand. It seemed unreachable, as if for every one step I took it slid back two feet further. But at last I made it.

I stood there, waiting for the judge's next instruction.

"Please state your full name."

"Emmett McCarty Cullen."

"Thank you, Mr. Cullen. You may now be seated."

I swear my heart plummeted down to my stomach the same moment I lowered myself onto the chair. Jacob stood up and walked over to me briskly.

"Now, Mr. Cullen, do you remember that meeting we had a short while ago?"

"Yes, I do."

"I would like you to repeat everything you told me, this time to the court. Tell your side of the tale."

I did so in a voice that sounded like I had a worm stuck in my throat. But as I got further into the story, I found myself reliving the day again. By the time I was finished I sounded like a robot.

"Very good," Jacob praised. "Now, did you see any of the stabbing when it happened?"

"No." I stared at him but let my eyes glaze over.

"And why would that be?"

"There were many people in front of me."

"Very well. Please describe Miss Hale's condition when you saw her."

I launched into that account too, and after that I was questioned by Jacob for ten (it had seriously only been ten?) more minutes.

"Thank you," the judge said as Jacob looked at me triumphantly. "Mr. Randall, would you like to cross examine the witness?" So that was his name.

Mr. Randall was nothing compared to Jacob. He basically repeated the questions, and when the interrogation was over I couldn't see what answer he was trying to lead me to reveal. And yet during that whole time, my body internal body temperature must've dropped to a few degrees below zero. I could only assume Rosalie had felt the same way when she had been on the stand.

The only person I could remember being called up after me was Angela. For the rest of that day I reran my answers in my head, hoping I had not screwed up any one of them.

* * *

_Wednesday,_ _October 29  
_

"…shall be decided." Jacob finished his closing statement and stepped back. The judge indicated that it was the DA's turn for his own closing statement.

However, his speech was interrupted quite rudely by none other than…

"Yeah, I did want to kill her!" Lauren burst out. Our mouths all dropped in shock. She couldn't keep quiet after all. The jurors above us were having a field day.

"What?" her lawyer asked, gaping at her.

"I don't need you to defend me anymore! I acknowledge what I did, okay? Yeah, I wanted to hurt her, I wanted to stab her until she bled to death. I was _perfectly_ aware of the consequences when I did what I did, but guess what? I'm PROUD of it! I'M PROUD OF MYSELF FOR HURTING THAT LITTLE SLUT WHO THINKS SHE'S BETTER THAN ME! Do you hear me, you good-for-nothing assholes? I AM _**PROUD!**_" she bellowed like a madwoman. So much for the "you have the right to remain silent" declaration. The bailiff firmly sat her back down.

Even Jacob's calm demeanor was shattered. His look bordered one of absolute shock and awe. Apparently he had never expected this; but then again, neither had the rest of us.

Judge Pascal forced his jaw back up and cleared his throat twice before speaking.

"I will have to ask you to please keep your voice down in court, Miss Mallory. Would you like to finish your statement, Mr. Randall?" The DA shook his head mutely.

"I believe this case has reached its denouement," the judge continued on. "Will the jury please assemble and reach a decision. The court is now in recess." The twelve citizens of Pollex filed out first to the deliberation room. The rest of us waited in the hall.

It was now that mattered. The fate of the trial all depended on the opinions of the twelve people. The judge's thoughts didn't matter, Jacob's thoughts didn't matter, the DA's thoughts didn't matter, _mine_ didn't matter. The people in the other room determined whether Rosalie would have her revenge.

* * *

_1 hour later_

Man, people, will you hurry it up already?

This felt like that horrid hospital wait all over again. And like before, I wanted to run and escape.

* * *

_20 more minutes later_

Come on…this isn't that hard to decide…common sense I'd call it…it's not even a difficult case anyway…

* * *

_8 more minutes later_

When we were finally allowed back in, the jury was already seated in the panel. One man, apparently the leader, held a slip of paper. Judge Pascal banged the gavel unnecessarily and looked to the man.

"Based on a unanimous decision…it has been decided that Miss Lauren Mallory is guilty for attempted murder, albeit not premeditated."

Judge Pascal only deliberated for a moment before saying, "Miss Lauren Mallory, you are guilty as charged. You will be sentenced to thirty years of imprisonment. Years will be added onto or subtracted from your sentence depending on your conduct during the first year. You will also be inspected for any psychological dysfunction. Should that be the case, you will be sent to a psychiatric reform center. The staff there will then take the necessary measures.

A short pause, then: "This case is officially over. Court is dismissed."

It was finally over!

* * *

_While walking to parking lot_

"You look very dashing, Emmett," Rosalie said, her eyes sparkling. "Reminds me of Homecoming."

"I'm just so glad it's over," I sighed deeply.

"Yeah, I know…" she agreed.

"Excuse me?" A female's timid voice interrupted us. We turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Mallory standing there hesitantly. Not knowing what to do, we simply looked at them.

"Miss Hale, we are so very sorry about our daughter's actions. She is normally not a violent person, and it was very shocking to us that she had a knife in her possession. I know this apology does not redeem for what she has done to you, but we have always been very strict with her about being good ever since she was young. We do not know how, when, or why she has strayed to this new level of hers."

Rosalie gave them a kind smile. "I am sorry, too, about Lauren's choices. My peers and I have never seen her any other way except for her bully side."

Mr. and Mrs. Mallory grimaced in chagrin. "Also, we were not fully aware of the extent of the damage she has inflicted on you until now. Dr. Cullen only gave us a brief overview. We feel terribly about the accident. Please, allow us to pay for the cost of your hospital bills."

Rosalie's polite, receptionist-like smile was still fixed upon her face. "No, no, it's fine. I don't think it's right to have you pay for something you had no control over."

"Yes, but still…" they deliberated. "Then, if you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to ask us. We will perform whatever you ask of us to the best of our abilities."

"That sounds fair. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Mallory."

"Thank _you_, Miss Hale. We're so glad you bear no grudge against us. Albeit she is our daughter, we wholeheartedly agree that she deserves to be where she is right now." Mrs. Mallory's spouse nodded in agreement and they walked away.

"Rosalie, are you really going to hold them to their promise?" Jasper asked her.

"Of course not. I think it's bad enough that their reputation is damaged, and that they may possibly have to shelter her when she is finally released. I can't find it in me to forgive her yet, but I do feel sorry for her. All her dreams of going to college and starting a life as an adult are now all impaired."

"You couldn't possibly be serious, Rosalie?" I questioned. "I don't think the rest of us are even near ready to forgive her, yet you, the victim, are?"

"Well, it's like they say, the victim usually forgives before the others. For me, I guess it's just…well, after I looked past my injuries and pride and everything, I kind of feel for her. Think about it. She'll be lucky to even be considered by colleges after this."

"Are you kidding me?" I snorted. "Her, planning to go to college? More like, she's been secretly training for a mafia or something, thus explaining the knife."

Alice hit my arm. "This isn't a joke, you insensitive person."

"I wasn't joking, you violent person."

"Oh. Sorry, Emmett."

"Let's celebrate tonight!" Rosalie said cheerfully.

"Err…alright…" we agreed. Weirdo.

* * *

We decided on watching _The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring_, just because Rosalie said it was one of her favorite movies. Thankfully, I did not have any homework—well I had math homework, but I planned on doing it during lunch tomorrow—and I allowed myself to relax.

It was near midnight when the movie ended. Rosalie danced to the kitchen and yelled for me "to help her bring the midnight snacks out". Geez. This was _my_ house.

I barely caught a glimpse of her before something white went flying towards my face and smashed into it. I felt Rosalie's hand slathering the tray of pie all over my face.

"FOOD FIGHT!" she screamed shrilly and hysterically.

"You stupid…" I whined, although the sound was muffled and it sounded like "mm mmfip". I removed the tray and ran after her with it. I gained on her easily and snagged her waist. I put the tray on her like a hat and she screamed wildly.

A flash momentarily blinded my eyes. I turned in that direction and blinked rapidly. When my eyes were finally able to see something besides the swirl of dull, dizzying colors, they focused on Alice, who was holding a camera.

Jasper…had his arms around her waist and his chin on her shoulder, surveying the picture too. They were pretty much an item, and I didn't really mind, mainly because I trusted Jasper. Therefore, it had been completely unnecessary for him to ask me for my permission to date Alice.

I couldn't stop staring at them. How great everything would be if that was Rosalie and me.

What was supposed to be my initial reaction finally kicked in.

"Alice!" I yelled, leaping towards her. "Give me that!"

She quickly hid the camera behind her. "Tch, no. And you can't do anything. If you dare break it…oh you're so going to pay."

Rosalie, meanwhile, had sneaked up behind Alice and grabbed the camera from her hand. Alice screamed in surprise and made to grab it back but Rosalie held it high above her head.

"Awww, it's so cute!" she exclaimed. "I may actually forgive you for messing up my hair, Emmett," she said very seriously.

"Right." I rolled my eyes. "If you don't mind, I'm going to shower now, _again_."

* * *

**A/N: YAY! THE TRIAL IS OVER! PHEW! I changed some things in the last chapter based on what we did yesterday and today for our own **_**Crucible**_** trial. It was funny. 'Cause everyone swore on a MERRIAM-WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY. HA. Got quite a laugh out of that :) But the attorneys objected to the questions with the incorrect reasons, and the judge wasn't any better.**

**Beta at Knott's Scary Farm?!**

**So, I would like your opinion on something: would you rather prefer that I write long chapters but take longer to update, or that I write shorter chapters but update sooner? Please keep in mind that my definition of 'long' and 'short' may be very different from some of yours.**

**I don't expect many reviews for this chapter; I admit I was supremely bored when writing it. Next chapter will be better, I promise. And I'm sorry for not updating on Monday; as you all know, the site went through modifications, and yesterday I was so tired I basically collapsed in bed.**

**Must study now! Math and anatomy test tomorrow! Au revoir!  
**


	10. Oh Snap! It's Halloween!

**Disclaimer: I own parodies, not originals.**

**So, because last chapter was so boring/depressing, I decided to give you guys a MUCH lighter chapter. I think this is the lightest chapter I've written so far**_**. **_**And it's Halloween! Who can resist that?**

**Translation: Je ****suis**** italien**** – I am Italian**

**For any readers in France—I don't mean to offend your president, sorry.**

**If this chapter seems more interesting than usual, it's because I was high when writing it.  


* * *

**Emmett's POV

_Friday, October 31_

"An Italian handlebar mustache?" Alice snickered.

"Sì, sì," I retorted, stroking it.

"I hate those mustaches. I always think people with them are rapists," she replied.

Good…I should put it on more often then.

I was dressed in loose pantaloons and a thin button-up shirt. I felt like Mercutio from _Romeo and Juliet._ Except Alice had decorated the shirt with pink flowers and other girly designs until it was a multicolored mix. Not that I minded. The more ridiculous the costume was, the better.

"Oh yeah? What are you?" I asked her. She was wearing a "suit jacket" that she had made, except it was neon orange and it had abstract stripes that circled and crossed all over the place. She also wore skinny jeans and…my hiking boots?

"You'll see." She smirked.

Our house was decorated extravagantly, with various Halloween streamers and the like. Everywhere I looked was either purple, orange, white, or black. Typical Alice.

"Where are our parents?" I asked her.

"Out buying enough candy to supply the world."

"For what?"

She didn't answer me.

* * *

"I'm Sarah Palin," Rosalie said with a British accent. She was carrying a toy sniper rifle. Her hair was sprayed black and she wore big, lens-less glasses that were about half the size of her face. She was wearing one of those park ranger uniforms, except she had modified it to give it the Halloween feel. It was also slightly more…revealing than any park ranger uniform had a right to be.

"George W. Bush fo'sho!" Jasper yelled. A British Palin, and a gangster Bush? I guess temporary insanity runs in the family.

"I'm Yao Ming!" Alice exclaimed proudly. So _that_ was what she was. Except…Yao Ming doesn't wear skinny jeans and hiking boots. Crazy woman.

"I'm Mademoiselle Candeur's suitor," I contributed. "_Je __suis __italien__._" We all erupted into full-blown laughter; Edward actually fell to the ground, holding back his snorts.

"Er…just exactly _what_ are you, Edward?" Jasper asked him.

"I'm the Bic Wite-Out tape!" he replied. Whoa.

"That's not a person…" Alice said, amused.

"No one said I had to be! You know you like it…everybody likes Edward Anthony Masen's touch of randomness!" I couldn't deny that.

"Are we going trick-or-treating?" Well obviously, Rosalie…

"Of course we are!" Alice said brightly. "And this is where the good part comes in! We're going to go do that first, and after that we're having a party!"

"What party?" I asked her suspiciously.

"Oh, just whoever comes over to trick-or-treat."

"_What?!_"

"Oh, suck it up. Mom and Dad said yes. Be thankful I didn't invite people from our school, although some may come anyway."

Aw man…we just had a celebration two days ago. Seriously?!

* * *

"Who's our first victim of the night?" Edward asked and grinned evilly.

"How about the Montebello twins, Ben and Jerry?" Alice suggested. "They're so adorable!"

I choked back a laugh. Every time I hear their names, I automatically think of ice cream. Along with the rest of the population. Alice, however, thinks of their little airplane beanies. She says they're cute and they remind her of helicopters. That's Alice for you; she's always the original one.

"Why do we not look frightening at all?" Jasper complained as we tromped on over.

"Suck it up," we chorused. That seemed to be an overly used phrase tonight. With the exception of "Trick or treat!"

So when Mr. Montebello opened the door, we said just that. He got quite a good laugh from our costumes, but he gave Edward the most candy. And with that, evil plans on how to sabotage Edward started forming in our heads.

As we visited a couple of other houses, our load of candy amassed. Some gave Edward the most candy for "being so creative" with his costume.

We were just walking away from Mr. Assport's house. I decided now was as good of a time as any to carry my idea out.

"So, how shall we attack him on _Monday?_" I point at Edward's back and winked on the word 'Monday'.

"Attack who?" my intended victim asked.

"You," we said, knowing he would never believe us.

"You can attack me by spraying my hair silver, blindfold me, and steal all my candy." Weird, I know. Who brings their whole bag of candy to school? Only Edward does. And then he goes all high on it. Quite a sight to behold.

We sniggered. Thank you, Edward. We didn't even have to think. And the poor boy never knew Alice was carrying around a bottle of pink hairspray.

"Alice," I hissed. She nodded and shoved the bottle cap at Jasper.

"_Attack!_" I bellowed. Alice ran and leaped on Edward while spraying his hair like crazy. It was now a bright, bubble gum pink instead of the blue that went with his Wite-Out. Of course, Edward had aborted his bag of candy in an attempt to get my evil sister off of him. I snatched the bag up triumphantly.

"We prevail! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laughed insanely. However, Edward's loss was not going to go unavenged.

"Hey, Alice…" he said in a curious tone, squinting at something behind her. "What's that?"

_Don't turn around Alice, don't turn around,_ I implored in my head. My pleading failed.

"What's what?" Alice asked while turning around. Edward lunged for her bag.

"Gotcha!" he yelled. But he couldn't tug it out of her grasp.

"Gotcha _not_," she replied. "Just admit it, I'm too smart for you. And next time, try waiting a while first."

"Never. You'd better sleep with one eye open, Alice Cullen!"

"Ha. As if." She walked forward, and we followed her.

But wait…where were Rosalie and Jas—

"Boo!" Rosalie's mischievous voice cried as _her_ weight dropped on me. I pretended to fall, but she held on tight, and the scream I was expecting never came.

"Outsmarted, Emmett." She smiled angelically. "I know you'd never fall."

"Oh, you want to play like that?" I asked her. "Girls versus guys? Let's go!"

Jasper had managed to steal Alice's bag of candy. 2-1, with the girls leading. This was going to be crazy, considering that some of us wouldn't hesitate to do anything.

* * *

In case you didn't know already, Halloween can be _really_ random. Some of the crazy candy lovers didn't give candy out. For example, there's this neighbor of mine named Peter who was well known for giving out something different each year in lieu of candy. Therefore, his place was the most popular to visit.

"Trick or treat!" We all had identical, goofy grins. Peter laughed in our faces.

"Emmett…definite points for that. And wow Edward…ever the nerd." Edward smirked while we laughed in his face, literally.

"Well, here's your Halloween treat for this year." He gave us eggs, each with a different happy face drawn on it. Can we say random?

"Thanks, Peter!" Alice said happily. "And it's…party time!" And she literally danced all the way home.

**

* * *

**"You can't have a party," I told her smugly. I had just thought of something.

"Why not?" she asked dangerously.

"You don't have food, or candy!"

She rolled her eyes. "It's all in the fridge, genius. Outsmarted, _again!_"

I smacked my forehead. Rosalie sidled to my side and murmured, "You're over thinking it." She then walked away to help Alice with the food.

Esme and Carlisle were setting up games when the doorbell rang. Alice laughed happily and raced to the door. Pulling it open, she was ambushed by a group of little kids who couldn't have been more than seven. Their chaperone smiled as they squealed, "Trick or treat!"

"Party instead!" Alice squealed, if it was possible, in an even more excited voice. "Come in!" They did so and their mouths fell open at the sight of the decorations.

Next to arrive was Tanya. "Hi! I'm the person who corrupted Nicolas Sarkozy!" What the hell?

"How do you know Nicolas Sarkozy is corrupt?" Rosalie asked.

"Aren't most politicians? But as for him, I really don't know."

"Who _is_ Nicolas Sarkozy?" Pity, pity…

"That's what you get for taking Latin, Edward," I said smugly.

"Well, it's a lot more useful than French!"

"Nah, Emmett, Edward's just stupid," Jasper joked. "I'm not in French, and I know who Sarkozy is." We both smirked at Edward.

"He's the president of France," I informed him.

"Oh. I thought he was your barber. That's why your hair always looks like a barbarian's. Haha, get it? Barber, barbarian?" Jasper and I laughed at Edward's mock stupidity and lameness.

* * *

Quite a lot of people came to our party, which was expected due to the many lawn decorations and the bright lights easily visible from the outside.

Most people had weird costumes. Every year, there were the cliché cheerleader costumes—"I'm the cheerleader from R.L. Stine's The First Evil!"—and then there were the more unusual ones, such as Heidi's chicken ensemble. There was even this one guy who called himself "King of the Rainbow". And indeed, he was covered from head to toe in packs of Skittles all strung together. I'd hate to be him. With _that _many packs of Skittles, he was probably walking around with at least an extra twenty pounds.

When it came to the games it was pretty crazy. They were all improvised versions, and each round was pretty chaotic. For example, Twister, the very ordinary game, was made _extra_ordinary when my parents added in their whole set of rules.

"Instead of playing Twister the traditional way, you will do musical chairs. By the time the music stops, you will have to balance on one foot on your circle, and if any part of your foot is outside the circle, then you're out! No using each other for support either. And also, while the music is playing and you're walking, you also have to make the sound of a farm animal. We will attempt to knock you off balance by making you laugh." Complex much?

Next was the dippity dippity hand game. As if that wasn't already difficult enough, Esme and Carlisle tweaked _those_ rules too, causing quite a lot of people to be eliminated almost immediately.

Then, the festivities were carried outside, where apparently, several piñatas were strung on a tree. Even lamps were hung outside just for the purpose of the games. When the first piñata broke, all the little kids screamed in pure ecstasy as candy "rained down from the heavens", according to them. They all scrambled like little ants to collect their treats.

"_Emmett!_" Rosalie screamed. She was giggling nonstop and skipping—well bouncing—all over the place.

"Er, yeah?"

"I'm high! WHEEEEEEEEE!" Oh dear Lord.

"Uhm yay?"

"Yeah I know! Come dance with me! Then we'll eat _more_ candy!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me into the house. This was going to be interesting.

I had barely stepped over the threshold when she tugged me to the living room.

"Let's hop around like bunnies!" And she did just that. This was not good.

"Jasper!" I yelled, running outside. He and Carlisle were now busy twisting those long balloons into animals and other things.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Rosalie's drunk, I think." But even as I said so I knew we had no alcohol in the house.

"Nah, she's just hyper."

"Well, she's—" I ran back into the house—"baaing like a sheep right now!"

He laughed. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"Hi Emmett! I'm a knight!" Ben—or was it Jerry—wait nah it's Ben—poked me with his balloon sword. I fell on purpose.

"Good job buddy, now be a princess's knight in shining armor!" He beamed and gallantly ran off.

* * *

When the party was finally over, we were exhausted. Cleaning up took only two hours—surprisingly. Rosalie, Jasper, and Edward ended up sleeping over. Rosalie's highness eventually wore off, but not before her cleanup duty. I had to admit, it helped a lot, especially since—

"I'm cleaning at the speed of light! Woohoo!" She beamed, broom in hand.

When I finally collapsed into my bed, I knew I sure wasn't going to forget about that party any time soon.

**

* * *

A/N: WOW! Are you guys lucky or what?! Three chapters in a week! I was on a temporary crazy writing spree, and I also had no school today due to Staff Development Day. **

**My own costume is a MUSHROOM, homemade :) Champignon pride!**

**WHEEE I WROTE THE ROSALIE PART WHILE I WAS ESPECIALLY HYPER ON CANDY WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :D**

**Happy Halloween everyone!**


	11. Grateful for Those Little Things

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for some of the Thanksgiving dinner that Emmett had generously given to me. :/**

**Wow you guys! Have I ever mentioned how fantabulistic you all are? Your reviews make me very, VERY happy, and I like answering each one of them personally :)**

**OMG, THE TWILIGHT MOVIE HAD SO MANY ADORABLE SCENES x3 Share your opinions with me if you've watched it! :D 78:30-80:40 – Favorite part of the movie.**

**

* * *

**Emmett's POV

I was awoken by the sound of pitter-patters against my window. I turned my head and looked. I blinked rapidly and looked again. Could it be?

"WHOO! IT'S RAINING, IT'S POURING, AND I'M _HAPPY!!_" Looks like Alice woke up at the same time I did.

Yes! It was finally raining! For several consecutive months, the weather had been disagreeable with us, and the skies had refused to spill.

Alice and I both loved the rain. I especially loved watching it fall; I could do it for hours.

Today was Thanksgiving, and I supposed that was why the sky had taken mercy on us and given us what we wanted for so long. Just another little thing I could include in my thanksgiving speech…

An hour later Rosalie called.

"Emmett, I'm having this positively wonderful dream right now, and I know it's lame that I'm dreaming of the weather of all things, but it's _raining_."

I laughed and played along with her. "I think it's interesting how we're having identical dreams."

"Nooo, seriously…" her voice rose to a whine, which was supposed to sound annoying but was actually the exact opposite. It made her sound rather cute, I had to admit.

Then in the background, I heard Alice singing something…moving closer to her, I could tell it was something she had made up.

"…oh, kiss me in the rain, it makes me insane…" she trilled.

I quickly ran back into my room so that I could laugh without Alice hearing me. Rosalie was laughing as well.

"Hey Rosalie…I think you should get your brother for this…"

I heard her pound on a door. "Jasper! Open the door! You won't want to miss this for anything!" He groaned and said, "You'd better have a good reason for waking me up at seven thirty in the morning."

"I have two!" Rosalie countered. I could picture her grinning, her brilliantly perfect teeth lighting up her marvelous face. "First, it's raining, and second, Alice is singing a song dedicated to you, which I'm sure she'll never sing if she knew you could hear it."

Jasper's voice came on. "Well, that got me intrigued."

I laughed again. "Okay, I'm going to put the phone on speaker, and make sure neither one of you make a noise. At least, not until Alice is done singing."

"Okay," he agreed and I snuck back into the kitchen where Alice was and placed the phone on the counter before ducking behind it.

"…we're drenched in the rain,

But it doesn't matter

'Cause I'm here in your arms…"

That girl was shameless when expressing her love for anyone. Rather than finding it funny anymore, I thought it was rather sweet. I wondered how Rosalie would express her feelings for me…if we ever got together.

The past several weeks with Rosalie had been frustrating. Sometimes she flirted with me, sometimes she didn't. I still had no clue if she liked me as more than a friend or not, but I certainly knew I liked her that way. The only thing I could hope for would be that she reciprocate my feelings; if not, then hope my feelings towards her weren't obvious.

When Alice finished her song, there was a short pause before Jasper's voice sounded from my phone.

"Really, Alice? Let's go, right now."

"AHHH!" Alice jumped so badly that her hands hit the stove. "OW! I burned my hands! Crap, that hurt! What the hell?! How much did you hear?" Uh oh. She sounded pissed as she turned the tap on and let the water run over her hands.

"Alice, are you okay?" Jasper asked in alarm just as I jumped out from behind the counter and checked on her. She slapped me.

"I hate you! That was so freaking embarrassing!" She sounded close to tears now. Was she PMSing? Wait, that kind of thing doesn't really exist. Wow, was I mean or what?

"Alice, it's not embarrassing," Jasper said, immediately using that lethally persuasive voice of his. "It was sweet. And did I ever tell you that you have a beautiful singing voice?"

I expected Alice to cave in to him—after all, she was as crazy about him as he was her—but she never blinked.

"You never heard that, Jasper," was her only response. I smirked and waited for the lecture she was going to give him.

"Emmett!" she yelled instead. It was now my turn to jump, but in fright.

"You. Explain. Yourself. Emmett. Cullen."

"Well, it was nice and I thought Jasper would like it," I boldly asserted.

She shook her head. "I'll need a better reason if you don't want me to eat you alive."

"Alice, that's enough." Thank you, Jasper, good ol' buddy of mine.

"Yeah, you're right. That _is_ enough." She vindictively pressed the 'end' button of my phone.

Okay, shoot. This was not good. Alice had never hung up on Jasper like that before. This whole thing was so out of character for Alice. She was always a happy, optimistic person, and she had never been one to mind things too much. I guess she must have really not wanted anyone to hear her sing that song.

"You can go finish making breakfast or something. I'm going to my room." Alice walked away.

I suppose it could've gone worse. Wait, scratch that. It _definitely_ could have gone worse.

Was it going to be a happy Thanksgiving anymore?

* * *

Afternoon came, and still the rain had still not ceased. Nor had Alice exited her room once. I heard her phone ring several times, but after that it was silent. She had probably switched it to silent mode. Poor Jasper. I knew he wasn't going to give up until she finally answered. The poor guy probably thought it was his fault.

Meanwhile, Rosalie hadn't called me back yet. She probably was blaming herself as well, that maybe if she hadn't told Jasper to listen in this wouldn't have happened.

But really, I thought Jasper and Rosalie were suffering unnecessarily. I mean, it was obvious that it was completely my fault. If _I _hadn't told Rosalie to get Jasper, then he wouldn't have been able to hear her sing. If _I _didn't put my phone within hearing range, she wouldn't have had her fit.

Worst of all, I didn't know what Alice was feeling right now. However, what I couldn't understand was her reaction to the song. Why was she acting like Jasper hearing it was the end of the world?

Thankfully, neither Esme nor Carlisle had ever come up to ask us what was wrong. It was obvious something was wrong; Alice and I locking ourselves in our rooms was highly rare.

When Esme called us down for dinner, I knew I would have to face Alice then. Alice wasn't going to ignore dinner, especially not a Thanksgiving one. She had once said, "I'm not going to risk hurting Esme's feelings just for my own selfish reasons." I agreed on the first part, but I had never really thought of Alice as selfish; rather, just the opposite.

I got to the table before Alice did. It was quite a sight, with turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry jelly, pumpkin pie, corn, all that fancy, traditional Thanksgiving stuff.

When we were all seated at the dinner table, Carlisle asked Alice to start her speech first. It was our family tradition for the youngest to start. Alice took a deep breath.

"First off, I'm sorry, Emmett, for being such a drama queen this morning. I've been thinking the whole time I was in my room—" _and so have I, _I thought, "—and it was pretty obvious by my actions that I was being a complete brat. I don't know what came over me…I guess it was just that that song sounded completely wrong and I didn't want anyone to think of me as a complete scoundrel, much less scare off Jasper. Please forgive me, Emmett."

At this point she looked hesitant, and I smiled at her, conveying to her that she was forgiven. She too smiled, and suddenly she was once again the Alice we all loved.

"Well, anyway, I'm thankful for all the things in my life, both old and new, that I'm lucky enough to have. Of course, there's always my family—Mom, Dad, and Emmett, who's also my best friend as well—and of course, all my other friends. This school year I had the fortune of meeting Rosalie and Tanya; especially Rosalie. Although she may not be as important to me as she is to some—" she gave me a sly wink— "I'm still thankful that…"

Her speech lasted for a grand total of ten minutes…which made me wonder if she had or had not premeditated it also during the time in her room. I noticed that a fifth of the speech was dedicated to Jasper.

She finished off with a "thank you", and then it was my turn.

I was just so glad Alice wasn't mad at me. I felt much, much lighter as I began.

* * *

Alice's POV

"Emmett," Esme said gently.

I smiled to myself before pressing 'record' on the camcorder under the table. Rosalie was going to love this.

"Well, like dear Alice said here, I'm happy with the many things in life that I was fortunate enough to have, except she left out some important ones." I raised an eyebrow at him and leaned forward.

"Well see, there are simple everyday objects that are constantly overlooked and deserve much more credit. For one, there's toilet paper."

I burst out laughing, as did Esme and Carlisle. "Emmett!" I chided. "And you were using such a serious tone!"

He continued on. "How could we function without toilet paper? That would be a calamity, wouldn't you all agree?

"Also, I'm thankful for happy cows…" The laughing ensued once again.

I knew Emmett had deliberately left out a very important part of his speech. That part was his feelings on Rosalie…he never talked about her in a way that showed his deeper feelings, but I knew it was there, burning inside of him. _Come on, Emmett, just spill it out…it's so obvious anyways…_

After Esme and Carlisle had finished their speeches, Esme said, "We have a little less than two hours to finish this dinner…after all, Mrs. Masen invited us over for dessert. I'm sure the Hales are invited as well." She winked and smirked at both Emmett and me.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

"…_I'm thankful for happy cows, and oh yeah, there's E equals m c squared—_" At that point, I had to pause the recording just to let out the laughter I had been holding in. The evil but smart Alice had recorded Emmett's speech just for me. Really, I owed her. I was having the time of my life here!

Alice was laughing as well. "He's so random!"

"Thank you, Alice. This means a lot to me." I told her gratefully.

Oh, Emmett. I could just imagine us together, holding hands. He would be the perfect boyfriend. He was witty, humorous, and handsome as sin. He was not like anyone I had met before. I also didn't think I had ever thought the day would come that I would need someone to like me back. In the past, that kind of thing had been effortless, even an excess. Now…it looked like I had met my match.

If only he knew how much I liked him.

Yet the problem was, I don't think he felt the same way. He talked to me the same way he talked to every other girl, and the last time he had given me a hug was the day of the Homecoming dance.

It had been evident that the old me was not going to work, but my new tactics didn't exactly work either. I avoided touching him too much and attempted to connect with him on an emotional level, but I could've been doing it to Jasper for all the reaction I got. Or if Emmett was reacting on the inside he was hiding it well. I'd like to think it was the latter.

Maybe I was rushing it. After all, we had only known each other for two months. And today was Thanksgiving. Rather than troubling myself about whether or not Emmett's feelings replicated mine, I was simply going to be thankful I even had him at all, even if it _was_ just as the disappointing status of 'friend'.

"Hey, Emmett," I called to him suddenly.

"Yeah?" He turned from his place next to Jasper and looked at me. His dark, mesmerizing eyes caught me off guard.

"You're handsome," I blurted out accidentally. _What?! Oh, my God. Please tell me I'm dreaming._

He smiled. "You're very pretty yourself." Was I supposed to be insulted or relieved with that?

I firmly decided on relief. It was Thanksgiving night, seriously. We had all the time in the world, so I should appreciate little moments like these instead.

So instead of beating myself up with conflicts regarding my feelings (and Emmett's), I reran those two lines in my head over and over again, as well as the part of my speech especially dedicated to Emmett…the part that I couldn't say tonight.

* * *

**A/N: This was supposed to be a happy chapter, but it turned out to be not. I'm sorry people, I shouldn't write when I'm depressed. But I really wanted to get it out during Thanksgiving though…but at least you now all know Rosalie's feelings for Emmett! I left you guys in the dark for too long, but some of you guessed correctly. :)**

**Hey all! Remember Peter? My friend Peter, not Halloween Peter LOL. He helped me with this chapter too (the part where Emmett thanks toilet paper, etc.), and I'm going to make him help me for the Christmas chapter too! :) Come on guys, you know you love him :D**

**So just last night I created a Freewebs site, all dedicated to my fics. Check it out if you like! It's listed as the homepage on my profile for this site.  
**

**Happy Thanksgiving everybody!  
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	12. Christmas is All About Love

**Disclaimer: Me no ownie.  
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**Yeah, it's been a month. I'm on winter break now, and I swear, the workload is INSANE. But I decided to write and not do my work. What can I say? I'm a super procrastinator! To those of you who were with me during the summertime, you remember my crises with all that summer homework. ;D**

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**Emmett's POV

_December 6_

Saturday morning started off with Esme dragging the family to her car without leaving us a single clue as to where we were going to go. It didn't take long for us to find out, however. We found ourselves traveling through a very familiar, very green path…one that we took annually.

"Christmas tree shopping!" Alice squealed exultantly. I grinned. Just like every year, Alice and Esme were probably going to be the ones to choose the tree. Carlisle and I were there to approve. Even so, nature was nature; I still enjoyed the sight of every tree.

As soon as Esme parked we all scampered out of the car. We had barely set a foot onto the lot of trees before an employee appeared and asked if he could be of any assistance. We politely "put him on hold".

We wandered around for about five minutes before I heard a shout, surprisingly, from Carlisle.

"Found one!"

Alice sped over, with Esme hot on her heels, to our father.

"It's so perfectly symmetrical! Can we get this one?" Alice said happily, while Carlisle beamed proudly.

"Can do!" Esme answered amicably. As soon as she said that the very same worker popped out from behind a tree. He must've been stalking us.

"All ready, folks?" he asked.

"Yes," Esme said, hiding her surprise well. Alice was simply giving the man one of her eyebrow looks.

When the tree was strapped to our car and we were driving home, Alice muttered, "Weirdo stalker."

I burst out in laughter.

"Kids, be nice," Esme scolded from the wheel although she, too, was grinning.

"Yes Mom," we chorused.

* * *

_Christmas day_

We had had a wild time decorating the tree and the house, both the interior and the exterior. I also hung mistletoe on every doorframe as well as all over the living room and on the veranda. Ha. Let's see you try getting away from that, Alice and Jasper…it's all around you.

Yeah, Jasper. The Hales and the Masens were coming over.

Rosalie, Jasper, and Edward came at around ten in the morning. Their parents were going to come later to help with dinner.

As soon as the doorbell rang, Alice and I both raced to the door. I was eager because I was not going to miss my chance to make fun of my sister and her complementary lovebird. As for Alice, I think she just couldn't wait to see Jasper again.

Sure enough, she jumped into his arms once she caught sight of him.

"Merry Christmas!" I greeted Rosalie and Edward. I pulled Rosalie into a hug, simply because it was Christmas…and the fact that I hadn't hugged her for two months. I was glad to feel her arms wrapped tightly around me. Over her shoulder I saw Edward roll his eyes at the "couple status" we all displayed, then walked off.

Rosalie released me to pull her fur-lined boots off. Alice and Jasper were nowhere to be found.

"So," I said, taking advantage of our rare moments of privacy. She looked up, smiling. I immediately forgot what I was going to say.

"I uh…" I took a step closer to her.

"_Ahem,_" someone coughed. I turned around. The two lovebirds were standing in the foyer. I glared at them.

_I hate you guys._

Alice, on the other hand, smiled angelically and pointed at something over our heads. We all looked up at the chandelier that hung there. There were several sprigs of mistletoe dangling from it.

Jasper chuckled and pulled Alice back, but it was clear they had no intention of moving away.

I sought for ways to delay the inevitable. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to kiss Rosalie, but I still was oblivious to what she wanted with me. I wouldn't be able to stand it if our friendship got ruined for any reason.

I thought frantically. And there, I saw it. My own ingeniousness. I smirked.

"_Ahem_," I mocked Alice. I pointed at the entryway they were standing under. More mistletoe, of course.

"Oh dang," Jasper said, although he didn't look the least nervous. "I am _so_ scared, you know?" he added with a smug grin.

"That's 'cause you guys are together!" I said, at the same time Rosalie said "Do it, then!"

"Okay," Jasper said, and he pulled Alice to him and kissed her.

"Awww," Rosalie cooed. I simply stood there staring—quite rudely, I think.

"They make such a perfect couple, don't you think?" Rosalie murmured in my ear. I nodded mutely, stunned at her sudden closeness and at her heavenly scent.

My sister and Jasper broke apart and stared at us expectantly.

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, clearly delaying again. "When did this happen?"

"When did what happen?" Alice asked.

"When did you guys get together?"

"End of November. Hey, you never asked," she said in response to my raised eyebrows. I turned to Rosalie.

"Did you know about this?"

She smiled. "Of course I did. Jasper wouldn't stop talking about it."

I was about to ask why no one told me, but Alice snapped her fingers.

"Ahh, zip it! Mistletoe above!" She pointed at the chandelier again.

"Uh…" I turned to Rosalie. Her smile from before was definitely gone. She now looked unsettled but stepped closer.

And closer…oh God…

And closer…I could feel the heat radiating from her…or something…

And closer…our faces were now dangerously close. I closed my eyes and started to lean in a little myself.

She gave me a quick peck on the lips and she was already running off when I opened my eyes. I stood there, frozen. Not only did I feel something resembling an electric current flow through me the second our lips came in contact, but I wasn't sure why I was so shell-shocked. It wasn't like I had never imagined the scene before.

Alice and Jasper groaned. "Run after her!" they urged.

"I uh…right." Operation Pursue-the-Girl-I-Like was now in progress.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

That was so embarrassing. If we had been in private, maybe it wouldn't have been like that, but I just couldn't do it properly with the eyes of my brother and Alice on us. And I still wasn't even sure if he liked me or not. If I kissed him for too long that would have been…wrong.

I didn't even know where I was fleeing to right now. I was simply running around the house.

"Wait, Rosalie!" His voice. I instinctively ran faster. I barreled up the stairs and launched myself into his room and locked the door after hastily throwing it closed. The adrenaline that had fueled me was slowing ebbing away. I slowly sank onto his bed.

I knew I was being irrational, but still. I felt like I had to do this. He had called me back…that meant that he didn't mind, right? Of course. So then why was I so scared? Even as I asked myself that, I already knew the answer.

It was because he was different. I had never before liked anyone the way I liked him. True, I had kissed someone before, but never had I expected the sudden tingle of shock. I was always looking for ways to impress him—something I had never done before—and his opinions actually mattered to me. Whatever he thought was bad, I would not do. If he didn't approve of anything I was doing, I would quit it. Just for him.

Why was I feeling so confused about this kiss? I no longer understood my emotions. I lay down on my stomach and buried my face in his pillow. His scent was so…_him_. It felt comforting, although it could not compare to the feeling I had whenever he wrapped his arms around me.

"Rosalie!" Emmett called.

"Not right now," I said to him.

I closed my eyes and let my thoughts take over. I felt myself drifting off to sleep…

* * *

Emmett's POV

How pathetic was I. I couldn't even chase after a girl. _And_ I got locked out of my own room.

"I'm really sorry," Alice whispered sadly.

"It's not your fault," I told her hollowly.

"Don't worry about her," Jasper said calmly. "She was just scared of your reaction."

"What?" I questioned, turning to him.

"Well, whenever a girl likes a guy, she usually panics right after she just did something that would expose her feelings to him."

"She likes me?" I asked excitedly. I felt my heart jump at the thought of that.

"Well, it really is sad that you two have been missing the obvious the entire time, because it has been quite evident from a spectator's point of view. Even an outsider would have been able to tell," Alice added. Her words made me feel like a complete dimwit.

"I would suggest you go talk to her before dinner," Jasper said with a laugh.

She likes me? _Yes!_

* * *

A lot of the day was dedicated to talking, since my relatives—well, my parents'—arrived in the afternoon. They found Alice and Jasper to be "simply adorable" and wouldn't leave them alone. I could tell Jasper was really embarrassed because he was as quiet as a mouse.

"Hey, Emmett." It was Edward.

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking…"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't you always?"

"Well yeah. But it's about girls this time." This was something new.

"What? Am I hearing right?" I pretended to plug a finger into my ear and swiveled it around furiously. Edward punched my shoulder.

"I've been thinking…maybe some of the girls aren't so bad after all. I mean, look at whom you and Jasper have found."

"So you have someone in mind?"

"Actually…yeah. You know Isabella Swan?"

Completely unexpected. "Err yeah." I wasn't going to risk offending him by commenting on her fashion sense.

"Yeah…" he repeated. Was he insane?

"You do know she's taken by Demetri, right?" I asked him.

"Not yet. He hasn't asked her yet."

"Yeah, well they're pretty much an item already," I argued back.

"Well, I've been talking to her a lot since she has a few classes with me, and I think I like her…"

"Okay…" I said, at a loss for words. "Well, if there's anything you need help on just be sure to ask." I hurriedly changed the subject.

It was five o'clock now, and the Masen and Hale parents came. It was going to be quite chaotic in the kitchen for the next two hours or so.

Sure enough, thirty minutes later you could hear the adults having their own fun in there.

"Whoop! Watch the flour!" one of the ladies cried.

* * *

_6:45 p.m._

Jasper and Alice's advice from before had calmed me down earlier, but now that I had to actually do it, I was all worked up again.

I rapped on my bedroom door gently. It felt strange, having to knock on my own door. "Rosalie?"

"Yes?" Her voice came out small and timid.

"May I come in?" Once again, I wasn't used to having to ask for permission to go into my own room.

I heard the lock click, and my sweet Rosalie pulled the door open. She looked at me from under her eyelashes, something that made her look even more beautiful than she already was. I entered the room, and she closed it after me.

I decided to get straight to the point before I chickened out. "Rosalie, why did you run away right after the kiss?" I was perfectly aware the question made me sound dense, but a simple question demanded a simple answer.

"Be-because," she stuttered nervously, "it was instinctive."

That wasn't going to get us anywhere. And it was turning awkward very rapidly.

Oh, what the hell. I might as well go for it. I had her feelings on my side, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to say something hurtful in her defense.

"Rosalie-did-you-like-the-kiss?" I asked her all in a rush. I hoped she heard that. I didn't think I would be able to repeat it.

She stared at me for what seemed like the longest time, and I felt my insides start to fidget, if that were possible. I started to think that she was going to say something cutting.

She finally sighed, and I anxiously sat there awaiting her answer.

"Did you?" she asked me instead.

I decided I should just answer her rather than skirting around the topic. It would be kinder that way. And I was supposed to be the braver one; I'm a freaking guy, for God's sake.

"Yeah, I did." Any softer and it would have been a squeak.

She looked completely shocked. "You did?"

"Yeah." Please don't ask me again, so that I don't have to say it again.

"Yes!" she squealed, and attacked me in a fierce hug.

"It's your turn to answer," I reminded her. She was suddenly nervous again.

"Well, yeah, I did, but I wasn't prepared for it…" If she was referring to the shock that I had felt, then we were perfectly in sync with each other.

"It's okay," I said, revealing one branch of mistletoe that I had hidden behind me. "What happened then doesn't matter, because we're going to do it right this time…"

* * *

_Dinnertime_

Kissing Rosalie was far, far better than what I had ever imagined. It tasted so exquisite, so unique to her. I couldn't get enough of it either.

She was simply amazing. Everything about her affected me. I was drawn in way too deeply, but I was fine with it.

"Emmett? _Emmett!_" someone called.

"What?" I asked, startled out of my daydream. Edward's mother was looking at me concernedly. My sister, Jasper, and Edward all had knowing smirks on their faces. Rosalie looked shy.

"Could you please pass the gravy?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry, Mrs. Masen." I handed the boat to her. I would have to stop with the replays until bedtime. I turned to Alice, who was next to me, and became engaged in a conversation with her and Jasper. I occasionally sneaked peeks at Rosalie. She and Edward were immersed with constructing mashed potato mountains. I think she was glowing more than she ever had. My heart swelled at the thought that it was because of the amazing kiss we had shared that caused her to be like that.

* * *

"Presents time!" Esme called enthusiastically. Sometimes, she and Carlisle could be teens again. They made their way over to our huge, merrily sparkling tree while the rest of us arranged ourselves around the space of the living room.

Jasper and Alice hogged one loveseat. I sat on the ground next to them, and Rosalie sat down next to me. There was barely any space between our bodies. She looked nervous again. I gave her a reassuring smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She returned her million-dollar smile and leaned into me.

"First…is Alice." Carlisle grinned and lifted up what looked like a heavy object, then walked over and set it down in front of her. She ripped the wrapping paper off like there was no tomorrow.

"HOLY SHRINE!" Alice screamed. I think she was so excited she was just blurting out words off the top of her head.

"What is it?" we all asked, except for Carlisle and Esme.

"IT'S A SEWING MACHINE! AHHH! I LOVE YOU MOMMY AND DADDY!" She started doing a jig.

"It's for your own experiments," Esme explained quite unnecessarily. We already knew Alice was into clothing designing.

Turns out, the rest of our relatives splurged on her also. And when my turn came, they did the same for me. And especially Alice. She bought me several presents.

I was pretty touched with some of the things I received. For example, Alice gave me the picture that she took of Rosalie and me on that eventful evening after the trial, and it was beautifully framed, with a three-dimensional rose as part of the frame. It might have been slightly girlish, but that was Alice for you.

I got some very random and hilarious ones though. For example, Edward gave me Playdoh as well as a stuffed Aflac duck. I had no clue what I was going to do with those.

Rosalie gave me a mat for the Dance Dance Revolution game. It was seriously crazy when the five of us played it. She smiled shyly after I opened it and told her that I was going to really enjoy it.

Jasper gave me a massaging seat cushion, because I was "going to die without it", as he oh-so-kindly put it. I was getting some pretty strange gifts this year.

Esme and Carlisle bought me a laptop. I was stunned into silence after that.

I received more presents than I could count, and overall, the atmosphere was a very happy one. We got quite loud, and we just couldn't stop laughing and enjoying each other's company as the heat radiating from the fireplace kept us toasty. We also sang all the traditional Christmas carols and holiday songs and consumed eggnog.

Rosalie snuggled up to me and we had a few words of our own—we were finally able to have a conversation just for the two of us. I looked over and saw Jasper and Alice doing the same. Edward was smiling to himself—he was probably thinking about Isabella. I then turned to our tree, whose lights and decorations were still glowing and sparkling as brightly as ever, and to our fire, which was still crackling strongly and merrily.

It was a merry Christmas indeed.

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**A/N: Uhmm. It is now 5:10 a.m. and way past Christmas. I can't believe I couldn't get this chapter out in time. Oh well. Did you like it? **

**Review, please! You will get a preview of the next chapter if you do! Love you all!**

**Merry Christmas everybody! (Even though I'm about 5 hours overdue.) :P**

**I love my beta! Fun times on Facebook. They will never get old. :O  
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**Pictures of presents on my Freewebs site. It is listed as my homepage on my profile.  
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	13. Capture Anew

**Disclaimer: NOT. MINE. NOT. EVEN. IN. THE. NEW. YEAR. 2009.**

**I was watching Fergie's Hollywood Party when writing the last part, so if it's a bit wacky, you know why.**

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Emmett's POV

We were watching the TV, staring at the sea of people who were in turn staring at the time ball so many feet above them. Times Square was truly a beautiful place. The many heads were adorned with pretty much the same ornaments—the four-digits-of-the-year party glasses, the hats, the feathers…all that paraphernalia.

It was almost time. We sat back and waited. To be frank, staring at the same scenes for the past half hour got boring quickly. Alice was snuggled up against Jasper, and Rosalie was squashing me against the armrest of the sofa. My parents' hands were clasped. Edward was seated on an ottoman, and he tried to look as if he didn't mind being the only one sitting by himself, but we all saw through him. Poor guy.

11:59 p.m. Finally. The people in Times Square were shifting excitedly, having just seen the number on the electronic billboard change from an eight to a nine.

Pretty soon, the mass crowd was chanting as one, guided by the billboard.

"…_Twenty-seven! Twenty-six! Twenty-five!…_" We joined in, Alice's voice shrilly in her eagerness. Very soon, the cries on TV and the ones coming from our mouths amplified.

"FIVE!" We were all staring intensely at the glittering time ball now.

"FOUR!

"THREE!

"TWO!

"ONE!" The ball started to drop, and Auld Lang Syne began to play. "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!" we all screamed at each other. The first of the confetti began to fall. I remembered something traditionally important that I had forgotten to do. I drew Rosalie to me and unhesitatingly kissed her, to which she responded quite enthusiastically.

We were broken apart by sounds of whooping. Everybody was unashamedly staring at us—except for Jasper, who looked slightly nauseous. One of Carlisle's eyebrows was up in surprise, while Esme was smiling widely. I assumed she had known all along.

"Sweet but gross," Jasper said, pretending to gag. "How can you watch your own brother?" he asked Alice.

"Not my flesh and blood," she said simply, grinning. I pretended to be insulted.

"Okay, time for you guys to go now," my sister said, shoving Jasper, Edward, and me towards front door. "As much as I love you all, Rosalie and I are taking over the house tonight. Prearranged, remember?"

"Doing what?" Edward asked, moving his eyebrows up and down suggestively. "Or do I even want to know?"

"Of course you don't," she answered, replicating his eyebrow stunt, earning him a mock glare from Jasper.

"Excuse me, are you hitting on my girlfriend?" he jested.

"Oh, did you want me to hit on you instead?" Edward asked with a maniacal laugh, which set off our own chortles.

"Jasper—outsmarted!" Rosalie gasped between bursts of laughter.

"Okay, okay, go!" Alice commanded. We obeyed.

"Oh, and Jasper?" He turned. "I'll miss you," Alice said with a radiant smile. The grin on Jasper's face mirrored hers.

"I'll miss you more," he informed her. Edward walked right past him with a cough that sounded strangely like "_Cliché!_" Or maybe it was "_whipped!_"

"Nuh uh," she disagreed childishly. Instead of arguing back, Jasper turned his smile on her full force, and they simply did nothing but stare at each other. Rosalie took that advantage of that little moment to dart across the room and to me. Her arms encircled my waist as mine automatically did the same to her. It felt like bliss.

That is, until I finally noticed Alice giving me a dirty look. I grinned unabashedly, and Rosalie drew back slightly. Perhaps she felt the force of Alice's glare.

"Bye," my almost-girlfriend breathed. "I'll miss you more than Alice and Jasper will miss each other." I chuckled, and Alice impatiently let out a huff, although whether it was from Rosalie's comment or from waiting, I wasn't sure. Rosalie turned and quickly gave Edward a hug too. He looked stunned. "Okay, bye guys!" As I was closing the door I saw Alice's foot tapping agitatedly. I smiled as I could imagine the pent-up energy finally being released as soon as that door closed.

* * *

_2:00 a.m._

We were playing Big Two at Edward's house. Edward was the dealer, and I always happened to get all the bad cards. Coincidence? I think not. Kidding. Unless he could cause a supernatural effect on the cards or something. I was currently engaged in a heated battle with Jasper, as Edward had already gotten rid of his cards.

"No no no!" I yelled as Jasper set down a triple.

"Pass," I admitted grudgingly. Jasper gave me an evil smile before putting down another set of threes, leaving him empty-handed.

"Damn you," I said in frustration. I had eight cards left.

My cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and smiled before pressing 'Accept'.

"Hey," I said, already grinning before she even answered.

"Hi, Emmett. What are you doing right now?" Rosalie asked in a chipper voice.

"I'm losing every round of Big Two 'cause Edward is cheating," I accused. She laughed.

Edward was dealing the cards so fast that he was almost throwing them at us. "Another round of watching Emmett suffer!"

"Again," I muttered into the phone.

The round began. To my utter surprise, I was winning. After winning that round, and three more, I was almost certain that Rosalie was giving me the good luck. I laughed in Edward and Jasper's faces.

"Ha! What now huh?!"

Jasper grabbed my phone. "Hang up, please! You're making us lose!" I heard Rosalie's chiming laugh, and I snatched my phone back.

"Not a chance," I heard her say as I put the phone back to my ear. "You've been defeating everybody for years; it's high time someone got you back."

"Sorry Jasper, looks like your winning streak is over." I laughed at him. So did Rosalie. How very _not _coincidental that our laughter together was so euphonious.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

_Rosalie. Lillian. Hale. Is. Triumphant!_ I cheered. True, it was way overdue, but I had never really thought about it until now—it had just come so naturally.

Alice had made a wacky suggestion as soon as the guys left—to knit some scarves. I figured I might as well; not only would knitting be considered as an Alice original on New Year's Day, but I knew it would also be the calm before the storm. Meaning that Alice would suggest something much crazier after this.

It didn't take us long to figure it out, and I started to let my mind drift. To Emmett, of course. I even got to call him. It wasn't even long before I began to miss the sound of his voice.

"Rosalie!" Alice called, snapping me out of my reverie. "Let's go prank call people!"

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously? Who would still be up right now? And wouldn't that kind of make it look like we have no life?"

"You're very wrong there," she countered, putting her hand up as a sign for me to listen. Sure enough, we heard the sounds of a party going on next door. "And also, we didn't exactly have a life to begin with," she continued. "Kidding!" she snickered, at the sight of my widened eyes. "Okay, okay, I know you're just dying to hear my brother's dulcet tones, so I'll be nice and we'll call Edward first."

I shot her a mock patronizing look. "More like, you want to hear _my _brother's 'chocolate for the ears' voice."

She grinned. "You caught me. So let's just say I'm doing both of us a favor."

"So, who should we be?" I asked.

"Jessica Stanley. Everybody knows she has a crush on the Newton guy, but she would leave him in a flash for Edward. Sad, isn't it?"

She put her number on private and called. It was put on speakerphone, of course.

"Hello?" Edward's annoyed tone questioned. He hated restricted numbers.

"Hey, sexy," Alice crooned in an eerily accurate imitation of Jessica's voice. I had to clap both hands fiercely over my mouth and bury my face in the pillows to refrain from being heard.

"Uhm, who's this?" I could just picture Edward's scowl as he tried to figure it out. I could hear Jasper and Emmett's laughter, and I had to refrain from yelling at Edward to give the phone to Emmett that instant. Alice looked slightly distracted as well.

"It's Jessica, of course. Whom did you think it was?" Alice finished off the sentence with an IQ-dropping laugh. She imitated Jessica's new personality perfectly. Jessica had changed a lot ever since sitting with Mike. More ditzy and annoying.

"Alice!" I hissed quietly. "You're supposed to speak with faulty grammar!"

"Oh yeah!" Alice breathed. To cover up her mistake, she let out a false laugh again, so that to Edward it would sound like one of those situations where one girl says something and the rest would giggle.

"Oh." Edward sounded confused as well. _Awk-ward._

"Yeah. So can you talk right now?" Before today, I would have said that Alice would never act so preppy, not even for a million dollars.

"Uh, I'm kind of busy right now…?"

"Oh, okay! Call me back! I'll be waiting," Alice said quickly, and made a loud kissing noise into the phone before hanging up. We instantly let it all out for a good two minutes.

We called many people, making up ridiculous remarks under the guise of others' identities. It was pretty no-life, but hey, it was funny! I mean, it wasn't like guys didn't do it, because I know for a fact that they _did._

There was even this one time where I had a brilliant idea and called Emmett from the Cullens' house phone. My voice closely resembled that of Esme's, and I pretended to yell at him to come home, but he could not be fooled.

"I know what my own mother sounds like," he said amusedly. "And I know what _you _sound like, Rosalie Lillian Hale." I gulped. Thankfully, Alice saved me with a "Love you Emmett! Bye!"

When we finally agreed that we should go to sleep, we had an argument over whose room to sleep in. Alice insisted that it made absolutely no sense at all for us to sleep in her brother's room, but I stubbornly plowed on with my reasons. But of course, Alice was Alice.

"Fine," I huffed, having half a mind to sneak into Emmett's room after Alice was asleep.

* * *

"My New Year's resolution would be to grow!" Alice stated. We all stared at her as if she were insane.

"Okay, fine, I want to have finished by the end of the year twenty articles of clothing and possibly have them patented."

"That's my Alice," Jasper said proudly. Everyone's eyes snapped to him. "What?" he asked defensively.

"What's your resolution?" we asked.

"To get Alice to marry me."

We snorted, and Emmett jokingly said, "Not if I can help it."

"Then that means you're never going to get Rosalie," my smart brother retorted threateningly. Emmett stayed quiet after that.

My brother's resolution was to fit in a job in his already busy schedule. If the stress didn't kill him, Alice definitely would, for "endangering his health".

As for me, I had decided that I would not hate anyone, and that I would try to remain neutral, maybe disliking at the very most.

Edward…wanted singing lessons for unexplained reasons. I supposed that learning an instrument makes you want to become even more musically involved.

As for Emmett, he simply said he wanted the world to become a better place. It was simple, but heartfelt. His resolution made mine seem selfish and petty. Not to mention, it made me fall for him even more.

Later, he pulled me outside. "I didn't mention anything about us, Rosalie, because I didn't want to force anything," he said. "I'm just going to let the chips fall where they may and we'll see where to go from there." Just as I was leaning up, he gently pressed his lips to mine. I smiled.

"Happy new year," he said. "I can't wait to start over and spend time with the perfect person."

"You stole my line." Finally, I had the last word.

* * *

**A/N: Happy New Year to you all! Whoo it's 2009! :D Share your resolutions anyone?**

**AND NOW, THE BETA'S A/N THAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR: HEHEHEH Hihi! Your author is going to try spotted dick with me one day.  
Yeah. You're right. I do help her with her ideas. Heheh. So, this winter break, I spent about 1,200 minutes on the phone with her and other people from her city. But anyways, I got in trouble for using a lot of minutes. We'd be on the phone till like 5AM. But don't worry, they were all night and weekend minutes. I should be writing now. **

**Lady Saruman: I love my beta too much for my own good. **_**-Sigh- **_**Oh yes. I must give credit where credit was due. She thought up of the girls' activities during their sleepover as well as Edward's resolution.**** :)**

**I forgot to mention, I posted about a month ago a new one-shot of mine, Alice x Jasper. Check that out if you like! After you review, of course. Hehe :D Thank you all! **

**Next chapter: Demetri returns! MUAHAHA, did you actually think I'****d leave him hanging?**

**Review for a sneak peek of next chapter!  
**


	14. A Gear Turn, Off Track, Confessions

**Disclaimer: All names belong to Stephenie Meyer or are figures in U.S. History. The only name that is mine in this chapter is **_**Chatte.**_

**Okay, I am so, SO sorry for the delay, but this was how my life went from the time of the last update up till now. I hope you can forgive me! I know with that 3 month long hiatus, I probably lost half my reviewers, based on personal experience. And it wasn't as long last time either. Oh dear. But I made it longer as compensation? Hope that makes up for it. :(**

**Jan. 12: Anatomy project due (900 points!)****  
Jan. 16: Wisdom teeth surgery (God it was painful) & Dance Concert****  
Jan. 23: Film project for AP Lang due****  
Jan. 26: 1,000 outside reading pages due  
Jan. 27-30: Finals and then PARTY!  
March 14: SAT?!  
March 16: 8 minute speech recitation **

**This is how the next month or so will proceed:**

**April 6-10: SPRING BREAK! Which is the only way I am able to get this out to you.****  
April 27-May 1: CST Testing**  
**May 4-15: Those damn, dreaded AP tests. And then a free time to update after that! :D  
June?: Anatomy project presentation (we basically just teach the class the chapter we did, which was sensory function)****  
June: SAT II subject testing *cue**** BOOING for all those tests!***

**Crazy, much? So you can't really blame me.**

**Finally, I would like to dedicate this chapter to two people. First, to**_** equestrienne326**_**, a very happy belated birthday to you! And second, to ****_kawaii(dot)bby_****, because she reviewed every chapter! Like seriously. She. Is. Awesomeness. Thank you to all of you who have reviewed as well!  
**

* * *

Emmett's POV

My excruciatingly lovely girl grew more and more perfect every day in my biased eyes. She was really starting to push the limits of perfection, even with her flaws. My feelings for her continually increased as she kept surprising me with some of her character traits. She was very much a different person compared to the Rosalie who had shamelessly flirted with everybody the first day I met her. I'd like to think it was because of my influence.

As the days passed, we grew closer, both physically and emotionally. The physical part took more time to develop though. But after enough time passed, we both knew enough of it to recognize it as a form of communication, and one that could be very subtle too. A caress, a slight shoulder nudge, a fleeting brush of the fingers—it all meant something to us. And this unspoken language was not universal either. It was something that had developed just between the two of us.

I knew Rosalie well enough by now to be able to decipher most of her body language correctly. Our constantly twined hands held a sort of code in itself too. The trick was identifying the amount of pressure one hand subjected the other to.

I had no patience with people who assumed that physical relationships meant that the people involved in them were superficial. A physical relationship simply meant that our preferred method, other than talking, was through some type of physical contact.

Even_ more_ annoying was the fact that we were the next _it_ couple ever since our return to school. There excessive amounts of gawking and talking accompanied with fighting and writing as people dissected our not-yet-boyfriend-and-girlfriend relationship into near-microscopic fragments. Some people, namely perverted guys for that matter, asked me if we had consummated our "relationship" yet. Rather than giving them a piece of my mind because they were so rude, I simply worked to control my voice as I told them it wasn't like that.

I had meant what I said. I hadn't thought about it before, but now that I did, the thought of doing anything like that so quickly sickened me. I respected her as much as I respected myself.

Yet, just when I had thought all the immaturity of high school drama was over, second semester brought with it another turn in our experiences.

With the new semester came a new student. Already starting from second period, many rumors spread like wildfire, all of which were peculiar and fairly amusing. However, I saw the real thing for myself—as did Rosalie—in fourth period. Which happened to be French class. Anybody else see the connection yet? That all the drama just happened to be linked to my fourth period?

There was really no accurate way to describe this new student. She looked more like a cat than a human. With her slanted, amber-hued eyes, and her too-pointy-to-be-human ears, she seemed like she belonged to the elven race…the one that existed in Tolkien's world. She was just _different. _However, she had nothing on Rosalie. I was almost expecting to hear an exotic, foreign tongue delivered in a vibratory murmur as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Why, hello," she said in a voice that made me internally shiver, "you're quite the looker, aren't you?"

Could she not feel the intense stare coming from Rosalie? I suppose she couldn't, but I certainly could.

"Keep your eyes off my man," Rosalie said evenly, with just the slightest hint of a threat in her voice. It made me smile. However, the girl turned her eyes on Rosalie instead. What she did next could not be appropriately defined as anything else but ogling. The thought of that made me want to hurl.

Even worse? She gave Rosalie the once over and whistled softly.

"Hot _damn,_" we heard her murmur softly. Rosalie's fierce expression instantly distorted into pure, unadulterated shock.

"_What the hell?_"she mouthed to me. I shrugged in response.

"Anyway, I'll see you both later," the elven-cat hybrid informed us with a simper. "By the way, the name's _Chatte_." She turned and marched loftily to her seat, much like a cat does.

"Wha-what was all that? Did you _see_ that?" Rosalie questioned, the words spilling awkwardly out of her mouth.

"My eyes are just as good as yours," I confirmed, confused. First, she had tried to hit on me. Then, she had flirted even more with Rosalie _the second after_. That must mean…

"She's _bi?!_" Rosalie and I whispered together as we turned towards each other. I was feeling nothing but utter astonishment, and I was sure Rosalie was experiencing the same thing.

"Yeah, I know, it's creepy, isn't it?" A third voice joined our conversation, making Rosalie and me nearly leap out of our seats.

"Eric freaking Yorkie!" we hissed. "Don't do that ever again!"

"My apologies," he shrugged, not the least bit remorseful. "You'll have to get used to it, I guess. Although I'm finding that hard at the moment…" he pondered. "We've never had a case like that."

"That's for sure," Rosalie agreed. "By the way, you heard her name, right? Did you know _chat_ is French for _cat?_"

I was only partially successful in containing my snort. "What a perfect name for her."

"Agreed."

Mademoiselle Candeur chose that moment to enter the classroom, and we were all excited. Why? Simply because it would be quite interesting to see how the French drama queen would get along with cat girl. The two types just don't mix, you know?

But au contraire, Her Dictatorness took a magnificent liking to the girl the moment she had spotted her name on the attendance sheet.

"_Chatte Cornwallis?_"

After the girl had identified herself, Candeur Highness went ahead of herself in her excitement.

"Oh!" she…squealed…? "_Chatte est un très bon nom!_"

Chatte inclined her head towards the overenthusiastic teacher and threw her a smile. As soon as the satisfied woman had turned away, Chatte asked her neighbor what the hell the woman had just said. The gormless student merely stared back at her in return. The sight of their dull exchange made me snigger.

It became quite apparent at once that Chatte had quickly ascended to a fairly prominent level in Mademoiselle Candeur's _société des __préférés_—her society of favorites, as our class had mockingly and scornfully dubbed her blatant preferences. However, she didn't even come close to unseating Rosalie from the throne—Rosalie, who would always be the reigning student of the vast sea of favorites. Wow, was it just me, or was I unnecessarily playing with language in my own thoughts?

Typical. That was my English course this year, after all. Language overlapped with more language. My teacher would be proud. And it happened to be next period too…_Mr. Cugh_, _I was excessively elaborating in my thoughts today… _Yeah. Right.

It wasn't until lunchtime that anything remotely interesting occurred again. This time, our source of amusement came in the form of an awestruck Demetri, and of course, the girl who had him so thoroughly whipped—coincidentally, the same girl who was affecting Edward in a similar, although less major, manner. Seriously, what was up with my language today?

They conveniently stopped in front of our table, allowing us front seats to what we were sure would be a very sardonic show.

Demetri took Isabella's hands into his own. "Bella Swan, will you be my girlfriend?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"One, because you don't even try to be there for me, two, you seem to have a fetish for girls' body parts, three, I don't think you even care about my feelings, and four, I've told you many, _many _times that I hate publicity! Why can't you respect my need for privacy! Oh, and in case you didn't know, you're a bad kisser anyways! Oh, and not that this has anything to do with it, but _don't call me Bella! _It's _Isabella. _How many times have I told you that?!"

The ever clueless Demetri was failing in defending himself. It was so funny that we did not have it within us to even feel sorry for him.

Edward grinned evilly. "Told you Demetri would fail."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I had expected that anyways. But you can't be too careful."

"What's this mischief?" Alice asked.

"Little Edward boy here has finally decided on a _girl_," I teased.

"Shut up or she'll hear you," he hissed. Alice and the rest of the group turned and stared at Isabella for a moment. Then they immediately began harping on him for not having told them earlier.

"Go for it," I advised him.

However, we—or rather, Edward—was beaten to the punch. Chatte seemed to appear from out of nowhere, and she walked over to a condescending Isabella in that way only cats seemed to possess. She then proceeded to throw her arm around the poor girl, who had probably not been aware of the new addition to the school until that very moment. Her eyes raked over Isabella's body much like the way she had done to Rosalie earlier today. I don't think Isabella noticed though.

"It's because," Chatte said suavely, taking control of the situation, "a girl as gorgeous and marvelous as she is deserves someone like _me_."

We watched interestedly as Demetri mouthed the words _someone like me_. Then the expression on his face was absolutely priceless when he realized exactly what that meant.

"Are you _les?_" he blurted out tactlessly. I made a scathing noise. Very smooth of him.

"On the contrary, my dear," she said in a very creepy way, "I am much more than that." She stalked to his side and whispered something into his ear. To my utter surprise, he nodded. She looped her arm through his, and they walked off, although she turned her head and winked at Isabella, who looked scandalized.

"You're _going out_ with him?" she asked, disgusted.

Chatte grinned. "I have a feeling you and I are going to be great friends!"

"Go, Edward!" we encouraged, literally shoving him up to Isabella. Did we sound a bit too enthusiastic or what?

"Hey, _Isabella!_" he called to her retreating form. I noticed how he had deliberately emphasized her name, as if showing her that _he_ could do it right. That was so like Edward.

She turned stiffly, but she was too far away for us to hear her response. We couldn't see her face either, thanks to Edward. So after a few more seconds of curious staring, we turned back to our lunches.

All too soon, Edward returned with a questionable look on his face.

"What's the matter?" we plagued him. "What happened? Did you get rejected?"

A jerk of his head told us that he didn't know. Really, the distinction between acceptance and rejection was not that hard to determine. But then again, Isabella Swan had proven to us that she was a highly complex girl. Such as when she had decided to refuse Demetri, not that I was complaining.

As for Chatte…she seemed pretty much like a cool cat—no pun intended—but none of us had really ever met anyone quite like her—and that included sexual orientation. I mean, when people told her to stop, she understood and took it lightly, but it just made us unable to look at her in the same way again. For instance, the way she still looked at people sometimes brought up blaring reminders of why some dodged her like the next bubonic plague.

Despite my normally open-minded nature, a part of me was hesitant to accept that. Very, _very_ hesitant. And it wasn't to accept her orientation, either. It was to accept her as a _person_.

Goddamnit. I was fucking prejudiced, wasn't I? It was an extremely upsetting thought. I wasn't supposed to be discriminating. It wasn't how I was raised. I knew there were people everywhere who were different from me—in almost any interpreted way—and I was supposed to go along with it. What the hell was wrong with me?

However, Rosalie was taking the situation much better than I was.

"Really, this Chatte girl isn't bad; just that her sexual orientation makes her somewhat creepy most of the time," she remarked amusedly as I voiced some of my worries to her.

* * *

A month had passed. We had gotten used to Chatte. Or, well, it was more like a mutual avoidance. When the new girl became old news, I didn't give her a second thought. She left us alone. We left her alone. I had other things to care about. Rosalie, for example.

She and I had grown rather inseparable, much like Alice and Jasper had. There were times when I felt bad that we were all paired off with each other and Edward was left alone, but he assured me that he was fine and that he was making progress with Isabella every day. Either she was playing hard to get, or she _was _hard to get. That, or she simply wasn't interested in Edward. I had no way of telling.

I now trusted Rosalie to the point that I knew she wasn't going to do anything to me that I wouldn't do to her. The previous situation with Demetri had shown that. Well, aside from the fact that Demetri was a complete scumbag…I still would have believed the same had it been any other guy. _That's my girl,_ I thought happily, musing about the most random things ever.

It was after school. I was now going to find Rosalie so that we could have a little time to ourselves before going home. I really needed to get my license one of these days…

I rounded the corner of a building, and there she was. Only, she wasn't alone. I began seeing red everywhere.

Her eyes were closed, and her hands were on the chest of a guy. His hands were locked around her wrists. He was whispering to her, and I noticed her breaths were uneven.

That was all I needed to see. I cared not for explanations. My rage and jealousy were enough to drive me away. As if to add to the moment, her eyes opened and she stared at me in a way that looked exactly like a deer caught in the headlights. And that clearly indicated that she knew she was caught.

I needed to know no more. The feelings that were possessing me at the moment were enough to wipe all reason from my mind, and that was enough.

It was over.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

"Have you ever considered Cullen's stupidity?" my attacker insulted. "Letting someone like you on her own…where anyone could just snatch her up." He finished that statement with a very loud snap of his teeth, so that I was reminded of a shark snatching up its prey and snapping its teeth closed like that. I shuddered visibly.

The primal instinct to scream came, but…I couldn't find my voice. Where was it? And why had it chosen to abandon me at the time of need?

I tried the next best thing. I jerked my knee up and towards where all men's weakness is. Unfortunately, he had even faster reflexes, and he caught my knee with his hand and forced it down. My attempt at injuring his collarbone work was equally as futile. It seemed as if this guy knew what he was dealing with.

So when he mashed his body onto mine, sandwiching me to the wall, I knew I had no chance to escape. My limbs were literally locked to the wall, and the way he was forcing my arms and hands together looked very wrong from an outsider's point of view.

After effortlessly repelling all of my struggles, he leered at me some more. I closed my eyes and attempted to block out all his every-pun-intended sentences while waiting for his first signs of weakness. But once again, I took the outsider's point of view and realized it would look exactly the opposite of what was the actual case here. My eyes snapped open upon realization, and they landed on the worst possible case ever.

It was Emmett.

I looked at his thunderstruck face. I was sure mine was equally as horrified. My harasser, who had finally caught on to my gaze, turned as well. He then gave Emmett the most sickening grin ever—one that made me want to rip up his face.

I watched helplessly as Emmett composed his features and strode off with a dangerous calm.

"Go, run after your _boy,_" my bastard captor mocked me as he let me loose. I was too upset to even think about hurting him once before running after Emmett.

"_Emmett!_" I screamed, my voice finally returning even though it cracked and it sounded oddly high-pitched. He didn't stop. I screamed his name again. This time, he halted his steps but did not turn around.

"I honestly, sincerely thought that you had changed." I screeched to a stop at the sound of his voice.

"No, I swear, that wasn't what it looked like," I pleaded, already feeling desperate from repeating the clichéd saying.

"What was it then?" he asked softly, not sounding hurt at all. That thought hurt _me_ more, on the other hand.

"I was attacked! I was smashed against the wall, and I couldn't move! I tried every method I knew to get him off of me, but he stopped me every time! I swear, that was what it was! You have to believe me!"

"That's not what I saw," he said still in that foreign tone that I had never heard him use before. The strangeness of it scared me and I was afraid to find out what it signified.

"I'm telling the truth," I said firmly, willing him to believe it. "Don't you trust me?"

I suddenly didn't know what to say anymore. Asking that question had led me to vital, forbidden territory.

"I really do like you, Rosalie, but I think we need to take a break from each other for some time," he said instead. I inwardly collapsed. There was no point arguing my case any further if he wasn't going to fight back anymore. And in that declaration he was telling me that he didn't trust me.

"How long is some time?" I asked him resignedly, feeling slightly hopeful since he hadn't broken it off completely, yet nervous because of the amount of time that he would need.

"I don't know. A while. Until I get things sorted out. Until it feels right again."

I nodded bitterly, forcing myself to accept it. I didn't even bother to say goodbye as I turned around and let my feet carry me briskly in the opposite direction.

_You are not going to cry. You are _not_ going to cry, _I stubbornly, meanly told myself again and again. Every time I came close to listening to it, my brain would bring me back to what had happened, and it was as if the memory had kicked my heart. My chest would constrict, and I would have to fight to breathe and not let the tears well up.

_It's only a stupid_ _boy,_ I tried persuading the part of me that was so attached to Emmett. _You shouldn't cry over something as silly and juvenile as that._

Yet, that part of me put up a fight. And a brilliant one at that.

_Is he really only just that? _Just_ a boy? _Damn the italics. Damn the emphasis.

As much as I hated admitting it to that now smug part of me, it was right. Emmett _was_ more than just a boy—more than any of those previous boys I had been involved with. There was something very magnetic about him. I knew that because I missed him with every minute we were apart, and I had known I was going to be a wreck should we break up after high school. Of course, I had assumed then that our "relationship" was going to last through high school.

Of course, I was being stupid and I had gotten my hopes up. He hadn't even asked me to be his girlfriend yet. And yet here I was, imagining that we were going to graduate together and possibly go through college together. What was wrong with me? I didn't even love him!

_Ah, _that stupid part of me chose to intercede again. _Don't say that._

I had to agree. That was a bit harsh, even for me.

Wait a minute. Why the hell was I arguing with myself anyway? I suddenly burst into laughter at the thought of Rosalie Lillian Hale looking like a deranged maniac.

I kept walking, never finding it within me to care about where I was going, until I collided with another person.

"Sorry," I offered brusquely and without really meaning it; I was too wrapped up in my thoughts. However, the person stopped me.

"Rosalie?"

I instantly scowled at the inevitability of having to talk. Because talking was what I had been hoping to avoid for the rest of the day. Nevertheless, I looked up. And whom I saw made me even more reluctant about socializing.

"Nice to see you, Chatte."

Her gracefully slanted eyes narrowed slightly as she analyzed the expression on my face. They were filled with nothing but concern.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Her softened voice made her sound normal for once. I internally blanched as I realized I had just labeled her as abnormal.

"What is there to say?" I asked bitterly, rhetorically. "There's been a misunderstanding, and now I'm suffering the consequences."

"Okay, let's go," she said, leading me to a place that I couldn't have cared less about. She sat me down on a bench, and it was then when I finally noticed my surroundings and discovered that my feet had taken me to a neighborhood park. At the sight of the tranquil greenery, something inside of me snapped, and my mouth went on unfiltered autopilot mode. It started with not being able to figure out where my attacker had come from, or how he had managed to corner me. Most puzzling of all was how I had not been able to detect his presence from behind me. Surely I would have felt it if somebody as dangerous as him was behind me, right?

Then, it spewed out everything my brain conjured up—in the direct phrases and sentences that the thoughts had come up in. I found myself ranting about my insecurities to her, and how I had screwed up everything. I was relieved there had been no tears though. Not staying strong was unacceptable for me.

And Chatte listened to it all without interruption as I rambled. She didn't interrupt once, nor did she stare at me. She just kept her eyes to the ground and silently took it all in.

At one point, I could tell she wanted to put her arm around me, but she refrained from doing so. It was the first time I felt sympathy for the girl. It really wasn't her fault she was born like this, and that she had to restrain herself from doing some things that all friends would normally do to each other, just so people would not misinterpret it and get scared away.

"I'm sorry," I said as soon as I had concluded with my walking away from Emmett. "I didn't mean to bother you with all that." _Too late now,_ I thought resentfully.

But Chatte shook her head. "No, it's okay. I understand. Sometimes talking to a stranger is easier and possibly even better than talking to someone you know." The many times I had heard people say that, I had never believed them. I had always wondered at the folly of speaking to a stranger over someone familiar. But as I had just done so myself, I had to agree with Chatte. With a stranger, it was just easier to get everything out. I didn't have to carefully modify my words, and a stranger's opinion of me mattered less.

"Come on," Chatte murmured. "I'll take you home." I was too mentally exhausted to question her about how she knew where I lived. I only hoped Jasper would understand. I couldn't talk to him about it. Not yet. Although when we went to school tomorrow the problem would be instantly obvious.

I gave Chatte her much deserved thanks, and I trudged upstairs, ignoring Jasper's worried and confused stare. I collapsed onto my bed in what I was pretty sure was a pitiful heap. I had no choice now but to wait. And wait. And wait some more.

_I will wait for you Emmett, if you still want me by then._

* * *

Emmett's POV

Over the next three months, I refused to talk about Rosalie to the group. That didn't mean my brain functioned the same way. No. I thought about her quite often, to my displeasure. She was like a virus that couldn't be cured.

After she had run away from me that day, I was surprised to find that it hurt much less than I had expected it to, considering how attached to her I had grown over the past few months. Did this mean that I had overestimated how much I cared for her? Did it mean that I didn't like her as much as I had made myself out to have? Questions like those constantly demanded my attention, and they frustrated me to no end. Why? Because I couldn't answer any of them. When I did come up with a semi-plausible answer, I'd instantly start doubting it.

And for the first time, my group and I actually split up over a disagreement. They had all flocked to Rosalie after telling me that she needed them more than I did at the moment. Edward, who was the least closest to her, remained with me. I knew I could trust that loyal buddy of mine.

Surprisingly also, I had found myself a friend in Chatte. It was much easier to talk to her if I didn't think about her sexual orientation, and once that barrier was cleared, I could talk to her as easily as I talked to everybody else. I also found out that she happened to be Rosalie's confidante as well. Here's to a small world…

Of course, with every breakup, or "breakup," in our case, the gossiping flared up again. Gossiping as if tomorrow didn't exist. And, because gossip was gossip, there were bound to be things I did not need to hear. A.k.a. things that pissed me off. Badly.

"Hey, did you see, Cullen and his girl broke up or something!"

"If they broke up, she wouldn't be his girl anymore. Which means…"

"Hell yeah!" Sniggers followed.

"Dude, you don't have the guts to go for her."

A scoff. "Are you kidding me? I'd be insane not to go for someone like her! That's like throwing away the best deal you've ever been offered in your life!"

"You have got to be shitting me, man."

"I'm not! I swear, she's so smokin' hot that she can turn all gay guys straight!"

His friend snorted. "And what, she turns all straight girls les?" Guppy laughs expelled from their mouths after that.

My blood boiled. True, our splitting up—not that we had actually been officially together in the first place—had hurt less than I had expected, but that didn't mean I had lost all my feelings for her. And dominating those feelings right now was protectiveness. This was the kind of talk I absolutely _despised, _especially coming from psychopath stalkers like them. Well maybe psychopath was taking it too far…but still.

Chatte was proving to be a proficient counselor. I could talk to her without fear of her exposing anything I said. That was because she trusted me as well. I wasn't the only one who was talking about something that bothered me. Chatte's problem seemed so much more significant than mine, and I felt bad complaining to her about something that paled in comparison to hers.

"Did you know I've had to move virtually every semester due to the schools' inability to tolerate me? I've basically gone cross country, hoping that with each new region it would be blissfully different. But no, no matter where I go, it's all the same.

"I'm so tired of being treated like a pariah. I can't help it that I was born like this—orientations aren't something people can control. I don't know if it's part of my genes or something, although it's probably not, since my parents had to have been straight in order to marry each other, right?" she ranted feverishly to me.

"Is it that I'm in the wrong time period, or what? I know for a fact that I'd fit it in very freaking well in the twenties, because homosexuality was _in_ at the time."

I didn't point out to her that just because homosexuality was accepted, it didn't mean that people were ready to tolerate bisexuality as well. She had told me once that someone had already reported her to the principal, and it had hardly been four months since she came.

"Anyway," she plunged on, completely disregarding her slightly hysteric cry from just a moment ago, "not that it's my business or anything, but I really feel that you and Rosalie should talk to each other about where you guys both stand in your relationship. It's been three months now, and…" she trailed off, biting her lip and looking as if she regretted bringing up the topic at all.

"Why?" I asked her sharply. "Did she tell you to ask me this?" And then I realized, a second too late, that I had just pulled a total jerk move. Chatte's eyes narrowed, as if she could read my mind.

"Do you really think so lowly of her?" she asked condescendingly, defensively. "You've known her for longer than I have. Would she do that?"

I shook my head shamefully and offered an apology. I had simply overreacted.

She nodded. "Consider what I've said, alright?"

"Where'd this thought suddenly come from?" I was curious about her rapid topic switch.

Her eyes dropped to the ground. I assumed she was shy about what she had to say. "I was doing some thinking earlier, and I mean, look at me. Someone like me will probably never be able to experience what you have with Rosalie. You've had enough time. I think you should overlook it and take what you have now, because in situations like these, dragging out the time would only hurt you rather than help you."

Normally, had anyone else said that to me, I would have been annoyed at them for being so nosy. But with Chatte, it was different. Those were her personal words of wisdom.

Yet, I had no idea what to answer her with. How was I supposed to respond to that kind of speech? I couldn't promise her I would do it, but I could probably try.

"Have you heard her side of it?" Chatte asked me. I nodded. She nodded as well.

"Then I'll leave you to your own devices. Based on what you know, I'm sure you'll be able to piece together a reasonable conclusion. I'll talk to you later." I was left to confront my indecisive, confused thoughts.

_No,_ my brain instantly snapped at me. _You saw what she did. You trusted her, and she reverted to her old ways. Is a person like that worthy of you? Three months is not long enough._

Another sector of my conscience added in its input: _no, the reason why you are dragging this out any longer is because you are a _coward, _one who is too afraid to face your problems. What have you to fear anyway? Hurt? You yourself said that it hurt less than you had expected. So what are you afraid of?_

I could not decide which side had the better point. However, the one thing I was sure about was that I must have multiple personality disorder.

Did I really need a girl anyway? I was doing so well before Rosalie came along. I had proven to myself that having a girlfriend did not make any difference. I mean, high school bachelor life was great, right?

The part that was defending Rosalie was scorning me.

_How could you be so heartless?_

* * *

**A/N: I'm evil! MUAHAHA! Don't worry, the next update will be much, much sooner. :)**

**Anyone like my reverse take on Bella? xD**

**Like I said before, I am so, **_**so **_**sorry for the crazy delay. But what other choice do I have when confronted with the crazy life-dictating **_**school?**_** Trust me, we students all hate it. Be proud of me though! 6,600 words!  
**

**But anyways, here's the deal. How about you tell me what your favorite line(s) in this chapter was, and I'll give you an **_**extended**_** sneak peek of the next chapter because you and I both know you deserve it after that horridly long wait.**

**And we must not forget **_****__dear forever yours_**. ****Without her, you wouldn't want to read this at all, trust me. Oh and I be doing her terms for her too 'cause I'm so used to doing terms, you know? :P I really do hate them.  
****(I LOVE YOU!)  
****BC13 MOTHERFUCKER!  
^LOL beta's input xD**

**OH! I have important news as well! For those of you who are reading _Anything for You_ as well, I'm promising you an update later today! And if you're interested, I will also have two new works out shortly! Although neither of them are in the Twilight category. I will tell you, however, that one is Harry Potter. xD  
**

**Without further ado, review! Really, it's a mutual benefit. :D Thank you all!  
**


	15. Rules Were Made to be Broken

**Disclaimer: The likelihood of me owning Twilight is the same as me getting an 800 on my SAT IIs, which I will be taking next week. **

**OKAY YOU GUYS! I AM SO EXCITED AS I AM TYPING THIS OUT; I WANT TO S Q U E E ! **

**Here's why: the first of the **_**H-O-T**_** chapters I promised you all is HERE! **

**I would like to apologize to those of you who thought I depicted Emmett as a heartless, uncaring person last chapter. That is certainly not the case, but I really couldn't explain his feelings at that time too. Of course, that means it's all here. ****  
**

**Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! Cheerios! Yes, I'm high. 'Cause I just ate some of those. :D **

**A special thanks to **_********__Bite Me Masochistic Lion_ **for demanding that I write this chapter sooner. :)**

**

* * *

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Rosalie's POV

_Brief overview of what had transpired during her three months_

I woke up. I went to school. I listened in class. I had fun with my friends—at least, the most fun I could have without Emmett. I thought about him. I wondered what he thought about me. I avoided him—just so that he wouldn't have a chance to avoid me first.

By theory, that made French my most dreaded class. Just yesterday, we had learned a new lesson about illnesses. And those illnesses were not restricted to just physical ones. When I read the expression _avoir mal au cœur, _I felt like destroying the entire textbook just so I wouldn't have to see it.

Today's period only reminded me of the pain I felt when the relentless, unsympathetic Candeur decided to introduce a new song to us. It was called "La Maladie d'Amour" by Michel Sardou. Any other day—excluding this hellhole time in my life—I would have appreciated and greatly admired the song. It told a story, and it was beautifully sad. But now, it did nothing to help my case. As the singer crooned in his mournful tone, I wanted nothing more than to scream like a banshee and destroy all the images the song was placing into my head. I was so glad I had chosen to switch to the most hidden seat in the class. Attention was something I no longer wanted. I did not want anyone's eyes on me. Chatte was the only person that I really ever talked to in the class anymore.

Of course, privacy was not the only asset the desk's location offered me. I was well hidden, and I could sneak glances at Emmett without him being able to see me in return. However, the problem was that I didn't use just class time to stare at him. I was also stalking him…or whatever the appropriate term for it was. I would purposefully go the long way just so I could catch a glimpse of him. I would also make lame excuses to go to the restroom or to go retrieve an object that didn't exist in my locker.

Even though I tried to be nonchalant about it all, my friends saw through me as if I were a piece of glass. Yet, they never said anything.

I knew I was being pathetic. After watching Emmett like a hawk, I knew enough to tell that he certainly wasn't doing the same. Not once did he feel the need to look at me. I was over obsessing about him, and he didn't give a care about me.

Yet, the entire controversy was that I trusted him. More so than he trusted me, as our splitting up had proven that. I believed him when he said he simply needed time, and that he wasn't giving up on me yet. I held him to his word on that, and I trusted him enough to not break it.

_

* * *

_

Emmett's POV

True, I had seemed very aloof and uncaring towards Rosalie and my splitting up, but that was merely a cover. Alice knew this. However, Rosalie didn't. I could tell that although she was putting in as much of an effort as she could to remain indifferent, her actions at times betrayed her. For example, her moving away from me in French class. Not that I could blame her. After all, I had asked her to give me some distance.

Yet, why did I care? She was the one who had hurt me first. She was the one who had been leading me on the whole time. I had thought that we had something real despite being in high school. I had thought she had rectified her flirtatious ways.

Yes, I had been hurting a lot more than I had let on, despite my frequent attempts to maintain my normal lifestyle. I had been losing concentration lately—something that I had promised myself I would not let a girl affect. But then again, I had never expected to find what I had had with Rosalie in high school. College, yes, but high school, no. College was real life. High school was merely a weak preparation.

Alice, the ever caring sister, was still trying to cajole a story from me. However, I could be equally as stubborn as she when I needed to be. Her little "reports" on Rosalie had given me more things to think about.

For example, when she asked me why Rosalie kept saying that it wasn't her fault, I didn't even need to feign ignorance. I didn't understand why she would say that. The only possible explanation was that she was lying in order to save her dignity. Of course, any dignity she might have had was all out the window now.

I only felt hurt. Nothing but undiluted hurt. And some more hurt. And I wanted people to stop asking me what had happened, and if they could do anything for me. _Yeah, _I really wanted to answer every time. _Just go away and leave me alone. _The only people I really talked to at school were Edward and Chatte, and Jasper occasionally. I didn't understand—and I didn't try to—why he hadn't kicked my ass yet. Alice and I talked mostly at home.

I had to make an effort to not be completely submerged in pathetic wallowing. _It's only high school_, I kept telling myself. I'd be lying if I said that convinced me by even the slightest.

I needed someone to talk to—someone who would listen and would be able to help me more than any of my friends could. Did I even know such a person?

I let my eyes wander, and they fell upon a framed picture. I stared at the exuberant group of four, who were smiling so brightly it hurt. My gaze stopped at the sight of the lovely lady who had never ceased to perform wonders. Of course. How could I have _ever_ forgotten her?

Now that I had found the right person to talk to, I just needed to wait for her return from work.

Finally, I heard the lock turn. Her warm smile greeted me, and I could tell she was trying not to let too much sympathy creep into that smile. Although I had not mentioned anything to her, she was not oblivious. After all, I hadn't exactly been hiding my…unhappiness.

"Hey, sweetie," she said. "I assume you have something to talk about?" Ahhh. Mother's intuition.

"You're the smartest, Mom." I smiled at her—or maybe it was a grimace.

"Alright." Esme pretended to crack her knuckles. "I'm ready for you, Emmett Cullen."

* * *

Hours later—I could tell by the way my mouth was horridly dry—I was now in yet another internal war. Esme had been completely convinced that what I had seen with Rosalie and the sick creep was not what I believed I had seen.

I had confessed to Esme everything—about not expecting to find someone in high school that I wouldn't forget about by the time I got to college, all my feelings—literally, everything.

That was followed by a lengthy lecture from Esme about how I was too protective of myself, and how I was acting a bit insecurely because it was my first relationship, even if it wasn't official. She then continued on to tell me that Rosalie was a trustworthy person.

"Oh, that's just my opinion, of course. I can't force you to trust her if you really don't," she concluded.

"So what do I do now?" If Esme was really right…then I had completely screwed up. And I needed to make amends. Now. Three months had been much too long. If she didn't forgive me…

_Stop this insanity_, my brain fired at me. _She will forgive you. As prideful as she is, she likes you too much to let you go._

Oh, really? It was hard not to be sarcastic in situations such as these, when my brain loved to attack what I believed. Stupid, uncooperative mind…

"I'd say to go talk to her. Clear up your misunderstanding and anything else that's driving you two apart. I'm not asking you to immediately get back with her, of course; in fact, I'd say it would better if you simply stayed as friends for a while—get to know each other a little better—before you go for a second try. Obviously, this problem has stemmed from too early of a relationship. You both still have a lot to learn about each other."

With that in mind, I now tried to think of how I could possibly apologize. I definitely was not eager for the upcoming conversation, but if it would save us, then I would take it without a doubt.

No matter how hard I tried, I could not come up with an appropriate first line. Nor could I come up with a heading that seemed right. Everything seemed too prim. I had figured it would be the best way to convey my words without awkwardness. Yet I couldn't even get my thoughts out onto paper. So I gave up on the option of writing a letter or even a note.

Next was my cell phone. I had hardly pressed dial when I decided it was wrong and ended the call.

What the hell was I doing? I was taking the cowardly way out of this by resorting to either of those methods. The truth was that I was afraid of rejection, but I had been the one to hurt her first by failing to trust her, so it would be no one's fault but my own if she decided to not accept me.

I braced myself and went to her house. In front of the door of the Hale residence I deliberated some more. I eventually told myself to suck it up, and I pressed the button that would set off the chiming inside their house, alerting Rosalie that there was a visitor and…_just shut up._

Jasper answered. I couldn't decide if that was better or not. "Did you need something?" he asked me confusedly.

"Yeah," I answered, trying not to show him how jittery I was. "I need to talk to Rosalie."

His lips twitched as he invited me in before proceeding to call Rosalie.

He returned much too soon. "She said she's not in the mood for visitors."

My stomach churned. "She doesn't want to see me?"

"Well…I didn't exactly tell her it was you. You can go upstairs and talk to her. Don't, however, upset her any further." For the first time, I heard the brotherly threat in his voice.

When I left that house later, was it going to be for better or for worse? There was only one way to find out. I knocked on her door.

"I told you, I don't feel like entertaining visitors right now," Rosalie's weary voice warned.

"Rosalie," I said, cutting her short.

My announcement had the desired result. She opened the door and looked at me with a tight face.

"Are you finally talking to me again?" Her voice was monotonous, trying not to betray any emotion.

"I talked to Esme." I took it that speaking to my mother was a good thing in Rosalie's book, because I saw her face soften before she swiftly arranged it back into her forced expression.

When it became evident that she was not going to say anything, I continued on, while hoping that things wouldn't get awkward between us.

"I made a mistake, Rosalie." I then repeated to her everything I had told Esme—except this time, I included Esme's lengthy lecture to show that I had accepted it too.

"I do hope that you will forgive me, and that we'll be friends again," I pleaded at the end. I looked at Rosalie. She was looking down, and she was playing with her fingers, the fabric of her jeans, anything she could get her hands on. Finally, she looked up, and then she stood up.

I saw her lips twitch, and I took that as a sign that she was going to forgive me. Turns out, it was a bad assumption.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

I raised my hand, and I let my palm fly from right to left with a very satisfying, resounding _smack. _And then I smiled grimly.

"That's for not believing me," I said.

Emmett slowly raised his own hand and put it up to his cheek. His expression suggested that he had been expecting it, and with good reason.

Yes, I had just bitch slapped him. Yes, it was something I didn't think I would ever have to do to him, but apparently I had just proven myself wrong. _Any _person would have deserved that. Even though he had not been a jerk to me during all those months, I still had to put up with the hurt. Every single day. And whatever he had felt couldn't have possibly compared with how _I_ had felt.

I had honestly been waiting for his help during the attack. Therefore, the sight of him turning his back on me had cut deeply. It was a betrayal. The moment I had needed him the most, and he had abandoned me. Even though I could understand what it had looked like from his point of view, I couldn't empathize with him. Having a little more trust in me wouldn't have killed him. After all, what had I ever done to betray his trust? I hadn't. And I never would. He was different. He was not just a high school crush.

"I know," he said softly, never breaking eye contact with me. Courageous. "And I'm sorry. I know that simply apologizing isn't enough—" I couldn't help but to smile to myself at how well he knew me in this aspect— "and so I promise you, Rosalie, that I will do everything I can in order to make up for this mistake. I know you probably won't like the sound of this, but I treasure us too much. You're one of the people in my life I cannot lose."

Any trace of anger remaining in my system ebbed away at that last statement. This boy could do the strangest things to me. He could tamper with my emotions so effectively. No wonder he and Jasper were a team.

But still…he was just so sweet. I would have to learn how to resist him whenever he turned on his allure like that.

I stared at him. "I'll hold you to that. I'll forgive you for now. And, of course, I can't say no to being friends." We settled for a handshake, which was much too formal for me. But given the situation…it was the most appropriate.

"So…" he said, grinning in a way that thankfully shattered all the ice that had built up between us over the months, "do you know why the French teacher never pronounces her _H_s right?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're silly. How are the _H_s pronounced in French? She's just used to it, that's all."

"So if I were to bring my English accent into my French…then hospital would be pronounced _le hôh-pital, _right?"

My resultant laugh was so uncontrolled that I had to press my stomach against the bed to control myself. It was the way he said it…oh, if only Mademoiselle Candeur had heard that. She would probably become aneurysmal from anger. The woman seriously needed to lighten up…too bad she didn't respond to Emmett's humor the way _normal_ people did.

* * *

_A month later (June), after school_

"It's so hot," a voice complained. It was Edward's voice. It was like an alarm tone—it alerted me to the presence of Emmett. Football practice was over. I looked up from my work and was disappointed. It was only my brother walking with Edward.

About ten seconds later, I heard gasping, screaming, whistling, and exclamations. I assumed it had something to do with Edward's previous comment. Most girls _would_ have an infatuation with a shirtless Edward. So I glanced up from the textbook I was currently perusing.

And oh…God…_damn_. All of my thoughts scattered.

Holy…matrimonial…patricide. There was very much indeed a shirtless boy, but it wasn't Edward. It was the previously missing member of their trio.

He had been hiding all _that_ from me during all those times before our…split up?! There was no way on earth I could allow him to put a shirt back on after seeing that. Of course, there was no way in hell I could allow any other female to see that, either. Well, actually, it was already kind of late for that, but still. Decisions, decisions—they were so hard to make. Back off, females…

I was going to pounce on him. But then again, so was every other girl in the vicinity, judging by their faces.

As soon as he was out of sight, I recalled my first thoughts upon seeing him shirtless, and I couldn't restrain a giggle that was completely out of my character. Matrimonial patricide? What the hell was that, and how had I even come up with it?

Nevertheless, that sinfully sexy image would forever remain in my head. I would never feel the need to fantasize about hot male celebrities again…not when I had a _friend _who could top them all.

I couldn't believe I was actually standing there, waiting for him at the locker room's entrance, despite its horrid stench. Boys and sweat…and I was willingly bearing with it just for Emmett. I was seriously messed up.

Finally, _finally_, he came out. Flanked by his two football sidekicks—or at least, that was what Alice and I called them secretly—Edward and my brother.

"Hey, Rosalie," they chorused in tandem. I tried not to laugh at their eerie timing. And then…

The object of my fixation. No matter how handsome his face was, there was nothing that could distract me from his body now. Not after I had seen it shirtless. I was very aware that I sounded like a horny fangirl…or should I say, one of the multitudes of girls who lusted after this sexy creature. In fact, I could feel their stares on my back.

"Emmett…" I said in a voice that sounded much too strained. "May I have a minute with you?"

"Alright," he said, looking concerned. Jasper and Edward's expressions were the same as they wished him luck and strode in the opposite direction.

I walked around the corner of the building, away from the eyes of nosy spectators. Emmett's hand was on the small of my back, and that gave me the most thrilling sensations ever. I turned around, forcing myself to take it slowly.

"What is it?" he asked anxiously, quietly. I almost laughed in his face. His worrying was for naught, as he was about to find out. His anxiety made him look so cute and absolutely irresistible.

I couldn't resist any longer. I leaped at him. For a startled person, he had pretty swift reflexes. I was impressed that he had managed to catch me _and_ not fall over. Of course I would be impressed. Emmett was not one to disappoint.

The second I had hit home, I knew nothing I had ever done before could match up to this. It was even more thrilling than cliff diving, than bungee jumping.

When my lungs were about to fail on me, I pulled back but kept my arms firmly around his neck. Emmett's eyes were wide and slightly unfocused. Good. As long as he wasn't in complete focus.

"Wow," he said a little breathlessly, which was quite a feat for him. "What brought that on?"

"You've been hiding too much from me," I accused. Not that he would know what I meant. And it wasn't likely that I would explain what had caused this behavior.

"Rosalie…" he objected uncertainly. "I thought you needed some space for a bit."

"We're just friends, remember? Just with slightly more privileges. And plus, it wouldn't hurt to violate that statement for a little while." My hormones drove me on once again.

"Oh…God…" I groaned against his lips as they continued to do whatever they were doing to make me insane. I was glued to them. They were magnetic, and they were so silky. Trusting that he would hold me up, I let my hands wander down to his chest. And…the feeling was ineffable. It was impossible for any seventeen-year-old to have this kind of body. Yet, I was touching—well, more like caressing—the counterexample.

_Emmett, are you sure you're human? I like you to an insane degree even though I said we should be friends for a while…_

_This is wrong! You have to listen to me! _You have got to stop! My brain screamed at me. Way to ruin the moment. I had no choice but to disregard the rational comments. There was no way I could obey. Not with him so close to me…

Since when did friends feel a burning desire to attack each other's lips and never stop?

I was finally able to understand the predicament of all those boys who had been pursuing me for the longest time. I was hardly any better now. I could barely keep my hands to myself, but in my defense, I was also able to communicate with him instead of simply being a pervert.

I squeezed his hand and smiled at him. _I like this_, I was telling him. He smiled back, still timidly reluctant even though I knew he understood. I couldn't blame him. After all, I _was_ acting slightly barbaric.

Well, it looked as if he still needed a bit more motivation.

I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to me; needless to say, we went for round three.

* * *

I was absolutely giddy by the time I got home. Jasper questioned my insanity but not the reasons behind it; I was sure he had his suspicions.

_I don't think you should do this,_ the voice of reason sounded. I bit back a scream. Why must it keep returning to haunt me?! Couldn't it at least let the euphoria wear off before coming in for the attack?

"Emmett," I growled as soon as he had picked up his phone. "I have a voice in my head that needs to die."

I heard his sweet laugh. "Believe me, I know how that feels."

"What do I do?" I asked him pointlessly.

"Come over and we'll dunk you into the pool, headfirst."

"Jerk."

"But you like it." I could hear the grin in his voice. It made me smile as well.

"By the way, Emmett Cullen," I chided him, "you need to stop taking off your shirt at school like that! Did you see the effect you had on the poor girls?" Now that I had just gone through the most amazing sensation in my life, I could afford to show a little pity towards the girls.

He laughed again. "I didn't notice. What happened?"

"Well, for one, CJ was staring at you nonstop—just like all the other girls—except I don't think she blinked once. When she finally did, I think she fainted."

"Oh?" He sounded amused.

"Yeah. And then Anita managed to take a picture of you. She probably texted it to all the girls in her phonebook."

"Hmm." His tone set off my own laughter. It sounded as if he couldn't decide on how he was feeling at the moment. Served him right.

"Eileen had her laptop out, so…" So she was probably on Photoshop, doing…something. And the worst part of it was, her skills on the program were terrifying. I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous.

"Maybe I could bribe her to keep her pictures private…"

"What?" I asked sharply. If that had been jealousy just a moment ago, then this was a fiery demon.

Another chuckle. "I was kidding. Even if I do bribe her, you can come along for moral support."

I scoffed. "You don't need moral support—those girls would fight each other to be the first to do whatever you tell them to do."

"Is that so?"

"Emmett Cullen, stop feinting innocence! You can_not_ be clueless to all your fangirls! They all looked ready to…to sex you up, or did you not notice?" What can I say? Sarcasm is fun.

He was quiet for a moment, and then: "Et toi, Rosalie? Where do you come into play in all this?"

"Me? Honey, I'm invincible," I joked.

"Honey," he threw right back at me, "was that the cause for your not-so-little assault?"

Ohhh craaap. "Nope." It was a good thing I could lie to save my life.

Apparently, it was all the answer he needed. "I see," he said amusedly. "Well, I'm flattered."

Great. He saw right through me.

We continued our conversation—with the occasional flirting. He was definitely a wonder, this handsome hunk who did strange things to my heart.

As for how I had never heard of Emmett Cullen until this year, I had no clue. A guy this great was bound to be talked about…a lot.

* * *

**A/N: S Q U E E E AGAIN! I don't know why I'm so excited. **

**Translations!**

_**Avoir mal au cœur: **_**usually taken to mean **_**to be nauseous**_**, but Rosalie's interpreting it to mean heartache, which can be said with better expressions. Of course, she doesn't know that. I was too lazy to make the French teacher explain that. xD**

**"**_**Et toi, Rosalie?**_**"**_**: **_**"****And you, Rosalie?****"**

**IN ADDITION, I made a LiveJournal recently, and I have no clue how to use it. Are there any LiveJournal users who read this story? If so, I would really appreciate it if you gave me a hand in this! Oh, and of course, you may add me if you like :) The link to it is on my profile.**

**Now review please and tell me you loved that! Give me your favorite part and I'll give you a sneak peek of the next chapter! WHOO! More H-O-T-N-E-S-S up ahead. *sizzle* This chapter was only the introduction. Hehehe…****  
**

**P.S. I'm wondering, is anyone interested in making a banner for this story? I've really been wanting one for the longest time, but I lack the time and resources for it. If so, PM me and I'll tell you where to send it to. Thank you!**


	16. Complex

**Standard disclaimer applies.**

**Uhm, what can I say? For those of you who are still reading this, you probably want to kill me, because it's been eight months since I've updated. I know you don't want to hear my excuses, because I have way too many. I'm a busy person. So I guess the only thing I **_**can**_** say is that I'm truly sorry. **

**I'll admit, I lost interest in fanfiction for a while, for reasons I can't explain. I just couldn't force myself to write, and so I took a long but unannounced hiatus. During the year, with essays every week, that wasn't exactly something that would make me eager to write some more.**

**This chapter isn't exactly great enough to make up for the wait so… for those of you who haven't forgotten about/abandoned this story, I give you the next chapter of **_**Hell, a.k.a. French Class.**_

* * *

Rosalie's POV

I wasn't sure what I was doing now. I just knew that I couldn't control myself around Emmett. I was doing things that friends weren't supposed to do to each other.

I was kissing him—as friends, of course. I had the pleasure of discovering for myself exactly how _nice_ his chest was—as friends, of course. Yes, it was all strictly_ platonic_.

So on one such day when I couldn't exactly control my urges, I yanked Emmett to me, seeking his lips at once…

I felt the tingly discomfort of being watched. I opened my eyes, and sure enough, they were met by a pair of golden-hazel ones. I jumped back from Emmett and let out a little involuntary scream. My hands automatically darted to his shoulders.

"Freak! What are you doing here?!" I cried without thinking.

Emmett, who had turned to see what I was staring at after having quickly gauged my shocked face, now wore a twisted expression.

Our audience member's reverence quickly distorted into hurt.

"Did you just call me a freak?" she asked, insulted.

Too late, I realized what she meant. She had interpreted the pun the wrong way.

"No, no!" Emmett said, comprehending before I did. "That's what she usually says when she's surprised. She tries not to cuss," he said seriously, trying not to smile at my idiosyncrasy.

"Oh…" she responded. "But holy hell, that was _hot_."

I tried not to groan. Here I was, having the time of my life, and I had to get interrupted.

"That wasn't exactly a public showcase," I said impatiently, sounding harsher than I intended to be.

"You're not exactly in a private location," she fired back coolly. "You can't do something like that and not expect attention."

Indeed, there was quite a crowd of spectators, gaping tactlessly. I noticed, to my slight chagrin, that some guys were crossing their legs. Uh oh… I mean, okay, I wasn't exactly Miss Innocent, but I wasn't comfortable about these things either. A lot of people had their phones out, and even some with cameras. I was about to get a lot of publicity.

It was funny how much meeting Emmett had changed me. Before, I would've been proud of this kind of thing. The expressions on people's faces would've boosted my ego. But now… my main concern was staying low-key and getting through school without drama. Huh. Why was that, anyway? Emmett didn't seem to mind the attention he was always getting… was it because he was on the football team? His looks? His infectious personality? Anyway…

Chatte looked at me, with crossed arms and a self-satisfied smirk. Her cocky attitude annoyed me.

"Alright, you win," I snapped, making no sense at all. I dragged Emmett with me and marched away haughtily.

* * *

The next day, I was still annoyed. In French class, I refused to acknowledge Chatte, or even look at her. It didn't help that Mademoiselle Candeur was PMSing as well. She struck out at everybody, much like a snake would, and she lashed out at Emmett much more than she usually did. Instead of saying anything, he would politely apologize with a look of pity on his face. It seemed as though he was mocking her. Her screaming made me want to scream as well. Scream and hold onto my head tightly.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, I felt the too familiar sensation of being caught unprepared… right when it was most inconvenient.

"Oh, shit," I snapped, unaware of what I was saying and the volume with which I had blurted it out.

"Mademoiselle Rosalie!" she screeched, the epitome of banshee. "Language! Pourquoi?!"

"Désolée," I muttered. "I need to use the restroom." I got up and left without permission, something that was completely new to me.

I sighed. No wonder I had been PMSing for the past few days. I should have known it was coming, given my bloated stomach and all, but as always, I hadn't been prepared for it. Which meant I was going to be in for a long day today… I could practically imagine the cramps taking over. Ugh.

Walking back to class, I could hear more screaming, and then cries of "Out! Get out!"

And out walked Demetri. He looked at me, and shrugged and backward-pointed with his thumb towards the class. Hmm… maybe I should just ditch class then. But my stuff was in there…

"What'd _you_ do?" I wondered. So maybe he was a jerk, but that didn't matter so much to me anymore… because I now had Emmett.

"Uh… I questioned her question. She misinterpreted it as a lack of respect."

Indeed. Anyone who asked her a simple "What?" would find himself—or herself—in for a round of chastising. Preferably yelling, of course.

So Demetri and I stood there, waiting for class to finish. When the bell rang, Demetri asked, "How are you going to get your stuff? You walked out of class without her permission… I'm pretty sure she won't want to see you back in there for at least the rest of the day."

"I assume Emmett will get them for me." He shrugged and headed in himself.

"You assume correctly," Emmett verified from behind me. I turned and gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

"So do I want to know what that was all about?"

"I dunno. Let's just say you know _of_ it."

"Ahhh…" And he kind of flinched. "It's that time of month?"

"What about you?" I asked instead. "Since when were you that polite to her?"

"Long years of experience have taught me not to mess with females when they're like that."

"Yes, they often do PMS," I agreed.

He looked at me curiously. "What does PMS stand for anyway? I've never found out, because girls always refuse to tell me."

"You actually asked?" I chortled. "Well, I'm not going to be the girl to break that tradition. Why don't you look it up on the Internet or something?"

He scoffed. "That's kind of desperate, don't you think? It's okay, I can live without knowing. Maybe I'd even rather not know."

"Okay." I smiled at him playfully.

"Oh no. I know that look."

"I'll see you later." I loved how he would always make me laugh even on my worst days.

* * *

_Beginning of lunch_

Huh. This was odd. He would usually be here already by the time I was ready to leave. So I went to go pick _him_ up. When I got to his classroom, I saw him in front of it. Except he wasn't alone.

A brunette girl was clinging to him tightly, sniffling. Emmett was rubbing her back comfortingly.

My stomach felt like it was on fire. But no, I wasn't going to cause a scene. Feeling steam come out of my ears and the strike of jealousy's fangs, I stealthily stalked away.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

When I got to my usual lunch table, I let everything drop with a crash. Alice, Jasper, and Edward, already there, gave me questioning looks.

"Day gone wrong?" my brother asked me.

"Ask your brother," I said to Alice.

"What'd he do this time?"

Emmett arrived five minutes later. "Hey there." He sat down next to me and put his arm around me. I shrugged it off, feeling appalled by his touch.

"That's my cue to leave, guys," I addressed to everyone except for him. I gracefully got up and marched away without another look, although I dearly wished to see the expression on his face.

However, I should've known he wasn't going to let this go. He was stubborn, that Emmett. He confronted me after school, in front of my locker.

"Rosalie? What's wrong?"

He did not just ask me that. He did not. The stupidity of guys. Really? How was one supposed to make them smarter? By clubbing them on the head, perhaps? The idea didn't sound half bad, in fact.

"Go away," I said childishly. By now, the cramps had kicked in, considerably wearing me out. I was not in the mood to engage in a verbal battle with him at this point.

"Not until you tell me what's bothering you." He refused to budge.

"Well, I'm not feeling well, and I'm not obligated to tell you anything." I walked away without getting what I had come for.

"Oh… okay then. Hope you feel better! Talk to me when you can!"

That was surprisingly easy… and pretty stupid on his behalf. He can't really be that clueless, could he? But then again, boys were always clueless when it came to girls. They hadn't an iota of what to do unless someone actually held their hand along the way.

His easy compliance angered me even more. He just didn't get it, did he?

When I got home, I sat down at my desk. Banged my head on the table. Wondered how someone could be so frustrating. I was pretty sure my own brother didn't frustrate Alice like that.

I took out a notebook. Turning to a fresh, new page, I found myself a marker and began to defile said page.

'_I HATE YOU EMMETT CULLEN_' was the product of five seconds' work. I even drew a hysterical face underneath. With a maniacal laugh, I ripped out the page and crumpled it up into a nice, tight ball. Then pulled it out of that form, smoothed it out, and savagely ripped it up into many, many pieces. Those pieces were dumped into the recycling bin.

Another thought occurred to me, and I drew a rather grotesque face that was meant to resemble Frankenstein's monster. I labeled that _'Emmett.'_ After folding the piece of paper, I deposited it into the shredder and listened to the whirring noise as it reduced the picture into hundreds of pieces. After emptying the shredder's container into the recycling bin as well, I felt a satisfying pleasure that his not-really-a-voodoo head was going to be recycled.

Well, that was that. I would think of him no more for time being. But damn… those cramps were _killing_ me. And the fact that after that paper demolition high, I was now down, moody, and snappish once again.

So I dropped onto my bed and drifted into a light sleep that thankfully numbed the nuisance of a pain.

But of course, like every other day gone wrong, there had to be something to interrupt my solace.

_You make me smile like the sun  
Fall out of bed, sing like bird  
Dizzy in my head, spin like a record  
Crazy on a Sunday night  
You make me dance like a fool  
Forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild  
Ohh, you make me smile_

My phone played the chorus that had become so dear to me. Dear because Emmett had sent it, telling me it was his favorite song at the moment, and that it reminded him of me. When Alice found out, she coughed out a not-so-subtle _"Whipped!" _

But I digress. Without bothering to look at who the caller could possibly be, I hit _Reject_, hoping the caller knew that as well.

* * *

Emmett's POV

"She rejected my call. What did you do to her now?" Alice asked with an arched eyebrow.

"How do you know she rejected your call?"

"Easy. It went to voicemail after only three rings."

"So? Maybe that just happens sometimes."

She gave me a withering look that pretty much told me to stop pointlessly arguing.

"Dude, I don't know what I did! I didn't do anything to her!" How was I supposed to catch up with girls and their sudden mood swings?

"Well," Alice dragged out, "could you have possibly done something that she might've taken offense to?"

"No! The last time I saw her was at the end of fourth period, and then the next time after that was lunch! What makes you so sure it's my fault anyways? She might just be PMSing because she's on her… yeah."

My sister eyed me strangely. "_You_ know what PMSing is?"

"Uh, well, no. I've heard it used whenever girls behave like that, so yeah…"

Alice smacked her forehead. "You boys are all the same."

"What?"

"Never mind. Just tell me everything you did after fourth period."

So I narrated. When I got to the part about the crying girl after fifth period, Alice stopped me.

"What do you mean you comforted her?"

"What do you mean what do I mean?"

"Well, how did you comfort her?"

"She just hugged me first?"

"And?"

"And? I hugged her back?"

"Yeah, what else?" What on earth was she getting at?

"Did you like… feel her up?"

"WHAT?!"

"I mean," Alice backtracked, "did you like, hug her in a place where Rosalie could have easily misinterpreted as scandalous?"

"I don't know… is there supposed to be a place where guys hug a girl or something, in terms of propriety?"

"Sure there is. It's called _don't hug her too far down._"

If this situation wasn't so confusing, I would have laughed.

"Wait, what does Rosalie have to do with this? She wasn't even there!"

"Or was she? Chances are, she probably _did_ see you, but you didn't notice. And whatever she saw, that was a major faux pas in your relationship. Then, because she's Rosalie, she must've slipped away. If there's anything girls do, it's most likely one of two things: either confront you then and there and cause a scene, or slip away quietly and be mad at you for it."

"Thanks so much for enlightening me," I said somewhat sarcastically. "Why can't you girls be more straightforward about things instead of insinuating everything and then getting mad at us if we don't get the hint or if we mess up?"

Alice shrugged. "Being direct isn't our style. We leave that to you _guys_. Of course, it's not like you guys are very direct either. Instead of asking us out or whatnot, you get a whole group of you and start playing pranks on us."

"We do not. Actually, that's pretty accurate… accurate in terms of girls. You don't think we notice? Hiding around corners, gossiping and giggling… we'd have to be pretty hopeless to not pick up on that."

"But why would I do that when I could just openly admire my man?" And then she made this strange movement with her eyebrows that was quite freaky.

"Okay, okay! So now what do I do?"

"What do you think you should do?" My sister was quite helpful when she wanted to be, but when she wanted you to flounder like a fish, she'd do that too. As long as she was amused.

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you."

"Rosalie's a very complex girl, so…"

"Yes, I've picked up on that, thank you very much. Actually, you know what? Why do girls get so offended anyway? Whenever you do things like that, I'm sure we don't get mad at you and give you the silent treatment just because you hugged a guy."

"It's because you guys aren't that smart. Not to mention you don't care as much, either."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"For example, you know how we go to your football games to support you guys? After the game, you guys take forever to change and shower and everything. But even on days when it's freezing cold, I still wait for Jasper. Rosalie still waits for you. Of course, Jasper doesn't think on that at all. He doesn't think about _why_ I do it—he just knows I do. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that he doesn't even consider the weather factor either."

"It's not my fault you like over thinking everything so much."

"Yeah, well," Alice was getting fired up now, "did you ever wonder _why?_ It's like I said, you guys don't even think about half things we do for you. We girls, on the other hand, spend time thinking about things you do for us, and then wondering if they could mean something significant."

"I assure you," I told her, "whatever we do, it's what it is. There isn't anything more to it, okay? We're not hinting anything. We'll get to it when we get to it. We like doing things one at a time."

"Oh really now? You know what? You're making me mad." And Alice left.

"What the heck!" I asked myself, ready to smack my own forehead. I didn't know what I did that was supposed to have offended her as well.

To be honest, I was tired of this. Rosalie and I kept having fights—albeit little, petty ones—and I was sick of it. It was obvious this problem was going to keep going on, because we didn't trust each other enough—or at least, Rosalie didn't. I couldn't do anything without her harping on me about it. She overreacted way too much, and she was always keeping me on my toes.

I wasn't sure I could handle this. After all, I could only tolerate so much before I snapped.

I needed a break. I needed to be single again, even if it was for just a little while.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

_I dashed around a corner and into an alley. What I saw made me skid to a halt._

_It was the same brunette from earlier, and Emmett. They were making out. His shirt was off, and she was running her hands all over his chest and stomach. She was glued to him, not only by the lips, but also by _every single part of her body._ I pulled out a knife from my boot…_

_When they finally broke apart, they looked at me. The girl leered at me._

_Emmett gave me a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Rosalie, we've decided to get back together."_

"_How could you?" I screamed. "You told me she liked someone else when you were still dating her!"_

_I couldn't take it anymore. With a strangled cry, I threw the knife at the couple before running in the opposite direction, a sob breaking loose._

I gasped and jerked upright in bed. My chest felt constricted. So constricted. I could barely breathe. It just hurt so badly…

I laid back down, thinking about the dream. I felt a teardrop escaping from my eye, and I felt it run down the side of my face before dropping onto the bed sheets.

Was she indeed an ex-girlfriend of his? I had no knowledge whatsoever of Emmett's dating history, but I wouldn't be surprised if he _did_ date in the past. How could he not? Rejection wasn't something that existed in Emmett's world. Even so, why would she want to break up with him?

How could I ask that question? Hadn't I, myself, done it as well? The truth was that he was hard to get along with. He didn't understand me. He may have done nice things but in reality, when it came down to my feelings, he was oblivious.

_That wasn't true…_

It wasn't, and I knew it. The fine, fine line between what I knew about Emmett and what I didn't know about him was beginning to blur, as was my vision…

_I was sitting at my dining room table, and Jasper was sitting to my right. I was dressed in my pajamas. Emmett was outside my door; my parents thought he was just a friend. They invited him in. He came in and wrapped his arm around my shoulders and smiled down at me. I reached up to hold his hand, and his fingers curled around mine. It was all done very slowly, and it was all very romantic. I felt my heart expand, and I was happier than I had been in a long, long time._

I forced my eyes open again. Even though I had that one sweet dream, I was once again miffed. I was trying to sleep, not watch scenes of Emmett… especially scenes I had no control over.

I took it as a cue to get up. Reaching for my phone, I discovered it had only been an hour since I had fallen asleep. I also noticed missed calls, a text message, and a voicemail. I chose to check the latter first.

Oh no he did not. He did not just break up with me by voicemail.

Technically, we weren't together, but you could say it was unofficial.

Oh, that boy made me _so_ mad. Kicking his behind would be pretty lovely right about now. It wasn't fair that my happiness was so ephemeral. It wasn't fair, period.

And now, my dear brother was going to get a piece of my mind.

"Jasper!" I yelled, barging into his room without a second thought.

"Whazamatter?" he asked absently, staring intently at his computer screen. Boys.

"I hate your girlfriend's _brother_." I sneered the last word with vengeance.

"Why is that my Rosalie," he responded with the same tone. The little endearment at the end was rather disorienting. The fact that he wasn't paying attention was making me even madder.

"Jasper Hale, turn away from that computer right _now._" He sighed and complied with an air that was sorely testing my temper.

"Now, did you hear what I just said?"

"Yes," he said. "You said you hate Emmett."

"Uh, yeah," I said in a tone that questioned his lack of reaction.

"And?"

"And, aren't you going to do anything about it?" I demanded.

"What exactly am I supposed to do about it?" Stupid question much?

"Let's think," I hissed sarcastically. "Maybe something like _beat him up?_"

He blinked at me. "Why would I do that?"

"Oh let's see…" I was on a roll with my sarcasm now—"maybe because he touched a girl inappropriately?"

Now he just stared at me. "No, he wouldn't."

"How would you know that?!" For some strange, strange reason, I took pleasure in yelling at my brother.

"I happen to have known him for a long time, in case you've forgotten."

"You knew me longer." Even I couldn't stand my own whining.

"Indeed I have, and that's why I know you're not yourself right now." The nerve of him.

"I can't believe you have the audacity to say that. You don't know me. At. All." By now I was just everywhere. It was a losing battle and I knew it, but I was just striking out just so I could have the last word. He didn't answer me.

"Actually, you know what?" I told him, suddenly sick of seeing him. "I don't want to be in here anymore. You're irrational and you would rather listen to your best friend than your sister. I only have six words for you: you are the world's biggest idiot."

And I slammed his door on the way out.

* * *

Emmett's POV

"Masen, you are such a hypocrite, you know that?" I informed Edward as he was busily ogling Isabella Swan's legs. Apparently, due to the hot weather of the oncoming summer months, she had no doubt asked someone to help her with her wardrobe, because her clothes were no longer baggy and mismatched.

"How am I being a hypocrite?"

"Bella is wearing the very same shorts you saw a girl wear last week. You called that girl a slut. But no, basically Bella can get away with anything, even if it was slutty, as long as you like it, isn't that right?"

Edward looked at me. "That girl was showing too much leg. And plus she really _is_ a slut. Bella's not."

"And Bella's not showing too much leg?" I asked rhetorically, gesturing.

"Not nearly as much." He knew as well as I did it wasn't true. "What's your problem anyway?"

"Just saying. Hypocrisy is something that'll grow if you don't stop it early. But anyway, why haven't you asked her out yet?"

"I don't think she's interested in me."

"What makes you think that?"

"She doesn't give me the time of day outside of class, other than the occasional greeting."

"So? She's a shy girl. Shouldn't you already know that?"

"Yeah, but she seems perfectly fine in class."

"There's the difference: in class and not. She's afraid to talk to you outside of class because she thinks you might be different then. Maybe you should approach her first."

"I did! Don't you remember what happened that other time?"

"Well, if there's anything I've learned from girls—and especially Rosalie—it's that they usually take things the wrong way. Seriously? Who asks a girl out, only to his house, to _cook? _No offense, that's pretty lame. She probably thought you wanted to rape her or something." I kind of snorted with that ludicrous thought.

"Emmett, I don't know! I've never done this before! How do you expect me to know how to ask out a girl while avoiding being cliché?"

I had to laugh at that. "Well, you definitely avoided being cliché all right. Now let's work on reducing the stupid factor, yeah?"

"It's not stupid! It's called spontaneity."

"Sure, sure," I said for his benefit. Being single was actually a relief, even if I was just taking a break. With Rosalie, I felt like I had to constantly input a lot of effort into making her happy. Alice and Jasper seemed to be effortlessly content, and I was clueless as to what they did.

It was stupid. Rosalie was always getting mad at me for something that I had supposedly done, or lack thereof, to offend her. And because of that, she was always getting into pointless arguments with me. I never knew what she wanted of me, because she would never simply straight-out tell me. It didn't seem like anyone knew either, no one but Rosalie herself:

"Jasper," I had asked, "What exactly does Rosalie want from me?"

"I don't know," he had answered. "You really suck at courting my sister, don't you?" he began jokingly as a prelude. "She's going to be one of the hardest girls you'll ever meet. Don't get me wrong: she's a good choice for you, but she's a perfectionist and she can be quite tyrannical at times."

"Tell me about it," I mumbled. "And she succumbs to mood swings every so often. A guy cannot honestly hope to catch up with that."

I had proposed the break more with Rosalie in mind. I was hoping she would reconsider her actions and realize exactly how crazy she had been. We hadn't addressed our recent problem yet, but I wasn't going to let it pass like it had never existed either. I knew apologizing was going to be a huge blow to her pride, but I wasn't going to _make_ her do it. No, I was going to soften her personality until she got to that point herself.

My brunette friend whom I had comforted the other day was aghast at the news. She sincerely believed it was she who was responsible for our "breakup," and she wanted to apologize to Rosalie and explain everything. However, I stopped her, because Rosalie was at fault, not she, and apologizing would not make Rosalie realize the error of her ways.

When had I gotten so philosophical?

Well, that little lecture Alice had given me had taught me something—I was now thinking a lot more about my pseudo-relationship with Rosalie: my errors, her errors, and what each of us should do to change. No one could ever blame me now for not being the thoughtful one in the relationship.

There was one problem though: summer was coming up in two weeks, and we still hadn't made up yet. And everybody knows summer was when anything could happen.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

_Summer, at the airport…_

"I can't wait 'till he comes!" I cried excitedly. It had been nine years since I had seen my cousin and his family, although we had often stayed in contact. He was now in college, and I wanted to see how much he had grown up.

"You mean you can't wait to see if he got hotter," Jasper teased me. "It's okay, though. We're a pretty good-looking family, I'll have to say." And he gave me a wink.

Uh…

"_Flight five-oh-six, from Canberra, Australia, has now arrived._" The announcer had just ended my indefinite wait.

"Yes!" I cried shrilly. I was just like a five-year-old. Or a fangirl. Whichever was worse.

"Why are you so enthusiastic anyways?" Mom asked me. "You don't have a crush on him… do you?" She winked and nudged me. I buried my face in my hands.

After another fifteen minutes or so, someone called, "Hey Rosalie, long time no see." How he and his family had managed to find us amidst the battalions of people, I had no clue. But that was beside the point…

"Royce!" I shouted, hurtling myself into his arms.

"Hello, there," he said, smoothing my hair down. Mmm, his accent was sexy. Having been nine years, I was bound to notice things now that wouldn't have appealed to a girl of eight.

"You've grown up," my parents chorused.

"Especially Jasper," Royce quipped. He flexed his arm for clarification. Jasper mock snarled at him.

"Where are Mr. and Mrs. King?" I asked him jokingly.

"They're your aunt and uncle," he reprimanded me, trying to be stern but failing miserably. He then finally greeted my parents.

And the whole greeting process began.

In the car, Royce asked us about our relationships, or lack thereof, which was something I had wished he didn't bring up. So while Jasper sang his praises about Alice, I zoned out.

It was very easy not to think about Emmett nowadays; I was definitely benefiting from this break. To be honest, I was enjoying my single status once again. The thing was, I wasn't ready to be in a relationship—and therefore commitment—yet. I may not be a player but I treasured my freedom. I also did realize that I had overreacted that other day with the girl. When I talked to Alice about it, she told me Emmett was not to be blamed. She also asked me if I preferred something over back rubbing and a hug as a means of comfort. When she put it that way… I couldn't blame him. Plus, what else was he supposed to do with a girl who threw herself at him? Ignore her? Let her drop?

Yeah, I had trust problems. Emmett wouldn't do that to me… would he? As long as this doubt lived on, there would be no way we could coexist as a couple.

So I lied… I was thinking about him once again. Who was I kidding anyway? With nothing to do in the summer, I constantly daydreamed. Daydreamed of all the things we could have done together, all the delightful memories we could have shared.

I, Rosalie Lillian Hale, was seriously a hopeless person.

"…you, Rosalie?" Royce turned to me.

"What about me?" I asked absently.

"Anybody special in your life?"

"Not at the moment, no," I said brusquely, and turned away.

I had hit the denial stage.

* * *

"Rosalie, tell me, please. I want to help you… tell me about him." My cousin was nothing if not persistent. _A fine resemblance between him and me,_ I noted sourly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied.

"I think you do. There _is_ someone, but you're refusing to acknowledge him. Who is it? Someone who doesn't reciprocate your feelings? Not that anyone would do that," he added as an aside. "Come on, tell. I might be able to help you with it."

I scoffed. "You can't help me. Jasper and Edward couldn't. I've come to the conclusion that boys are inconsiderate, clueless, and just plain infuriating."

Royce chuckled. "Let me unleash to you my sagacity. Then I'll have you think twice about boys."

"Maybe so," I conceded, "but no matter what you say, my opinion on _those _particular boys will remain unchanged."

"So be it, then. I'm not here to change your mind about boys. I'm here to listen to your story and see what I can do."

"You're not going to give me any peace or let me sleep until I tell you, aren't you?"

"You've hit it dead-on." And he crossed his arms and planted himself comfortably onto my bed. I spun around a few times on my swivel chair before I started my story.

And I told him. I told him about how I had met Emmett on the first day of school in French class, about my attack, about how that had changed me, about Homecoming and everything that happened as a result, about the subject of every single fight. I even showed him a couple of pictures. Royce was silent for a while. Then he said, "I don't like him."

"Of course you don't," I sighed. "I'm very biased, you know."

"No," Royce said, still staring at the picture of Emmett and me. "I don't like him because he's more muscular than I am."

I made a noise of disbelief and leaped up from my chair. "See! I told you you boys are the same! I can't believe I just wasted two hours telling you a story you probably won't even understand anyway." I shook my head contemptuously.

And Royce laughed. He laughed so much he fell onto his back. "You're so silly and gullible. I don't dislike him, and I especially don't dislike him simply because he has a more attractive physique than I do. Not that I'm noticing. But anyways, I do have to agree with your friend Alice here. Think of it this way: if you were upset about something, and I was comforting you—rubbing your back and everything—and Emmett saw, what would you do if he just suddenly got mad at you?"

I tried thinking about it. Couldn't imagine it at all.

"One, you're my cousin. And the thing is, Emmett wouldn't get mad at me for that."

"Exactly. He wouldn't get mad at you, so why did you get mad at him? If I heard correctly, you guys aren't officially together, and even if you were, there's no rule that forbids one's significant other to talk to others of the opposite sex."

"But that's just it!" I argued. "We're not in an actual relationship _because_ we're still in that tricky stage of trying to figure each other out."

"You guys aren't doing a very good job of it, with all the petty fights you're getting into."

"I know," I groaned. "I don't want to apologize though. He's always been the one apologizing even though it was always my fault."

"You need to learn to swallow your pride," he told me sternly. "And, in my opinion, you're whining too much. You can always blame it on your PMSing, but even when you're _not_, you're still complaining. If you learned to look at things from multiple perspectives you wouldn't find so many faults with Emmett. It's impossible for him to be perfect. If you're expecting perfection from him, you're not going to find it, ever."

"But how is that possible?" I demanded from him. "Look at Alice and Jasper! They're always so perfect with each other! They're so harmonious!"

"They mean seem the perfect couple, but underneath, they have many flaws as well. They've just learned to accept them and work around them. Not to mention the fact that both their tempers are considerably mellower than yours, I'm willing to bet."

I did not want to have a fight with him too, so I took in everything he dished out. It was really killing my pride. I gave up and sighed.

"Slap some sense into me, will you?"

He raised his hands. "Not me," he protested. "I don't hit girls. But you understand now, don't you? You're too hard on him. Your misunderstandings, your actions, and your demands all drive him away from you. I'm not saying he didn't do any wrong, but that isn't my concern. What I'm concerned with right now is _you_. You guys may be on a break from each other, but you still do need to apologize. Doing so won't end your break just like that, so don't worry about that. I know it will be quite a blow to your pride, but this is what people mean when they say that a relationship involves sacrifices. You may not like it, but it's for the best. In the end, it was hubris that killed Oedipus."

"Okay." I could already feel the headache coming on. "You've given me a lot to think about. Thanks a lot. I mean that in a genuine, sincere way."

"I know." He opened his arms for a hug. I stepped into them, and Royce rubbed my back. I felt a sense of déjà vu as I pictured this scene in my head. It really did feel good though. And although I wasn't sure of it before, I realized now that Emmett wouldn't have minded.

"Good night, Royce," I told him. "You're the best cousin ever, did I ever tell you that? You're also better at this stuff than anyone I know. Whoever your girlfriend will be, she's going to be a very lucky person. In fact, if you weren't my cousin…"

"Whoa there," Royce said, backing away, laughing. "Too much info!"

"Sorry." I grinned, feeling lighter than I had in a long time. "Tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow," Royce King promised.

* * *

Emmett's POV

Please. It wasn't like they were trying to hide an ant. He was a _person_, for crying out loud. Rosalie couldn't have honestly expected to bring a new person in unnoticed, especially since I knew her family.

I had seen her run hand in hand with him before. I had seen her hug him. Smack him playfully. I had seen him kiss the top of her head.

Well, that was all very fine. If this was what had been accomplished during her break, fine.

There was just one very little problem though… my heart wasn't taking this lightly.

I was going to ignore Rosalie Hale then. That was the only solution. It was extreme, but wasn't she being extreme as well? I was going to pretend she had never existed. After all, I hadn't even heard of her until I shared a class with her. Now all I should do was to pretend I had never gotten to know her.

Even as I made that my resolution, I knew I wouldn't be able to forget about Rosalie. Ever. She was like a brilliant bonfire in my life, and I couldn't extinguish it by sheer will.

* * *

**A/N: Translations: _pourquoi - _why;_ désolée - _sorry **

**This has so far been my longest chapter I've ever written for any story (besides my original fic). It consists of fourteen pages and one-and-a-half days of nonstop writing. To be honest, this is actually the first time I've been able to find time to just sit down and write without feeling forced. You probably thought I would've been able to update during the summer, and frankly, I did too. But unfortunately, this is the price one pays for taking 5 AP/Honors classes, with the added bonus of college apps, real life, etc.**

**The next chapter won't take eight months to be updated, I promise. However, as I had not received any hate mail or any messages inquiring about my absence, I had just assumed you were all fine with it. I hadn't exactly left off with a cliffhanger, either.**

**So if you want to know what's going on in my life, you can check out my LiveJournal. It's now friend-locked, however, so you must have an account to add me.**

**I'm not going to ask for reviews this time, because I'm too ashamed, and because I know that after long absences, the number of reviews always drops significantly. But for those who **_**do**_** review, however, they will still receive the sneak peek of the next chapter.**

**Thank you for bearing with me, for those of you who haven't given up on this story. ****And by the way, I get the feeling that I've mentioned this before, but I don't recall when: I've an outtake for this story. It's called _It Blows Right By the Inexperienced_ and it is on my profile. Thanks, if you could spare the time.**

**Happy holidays!  
**


	17. Voting!

I'm so sorry for the false alert! Especially since I haven't updated in forever for _Anything for You._ :(

Anyways, I just wanted to tell you all that I've entered _The Kid Contest_.

This is my first contest, and I admit, I'm rather excited.

My story is _Sealed with a Pinecone. _It's an Alice and Jasper one-shot, for all you fans of that pairing. Story is on my profile.

(Shameless self-promotion much?)

Anyway, I would really love it if you all do me a huge favour and vote for it.

Link is: fanfiction. net/u/2079954/The_Kid_Contest

(Take out the space, of course)

Please don't review this author's note. It'll be deleted as soon as I post up the next chapter.

I'm really sorry, guys, for not having updated AFY in so long. College apps are killing me, but I'm hanging in there!

Have a happy New Year! May 2010 be an even better year for you!

As for me… class of 2010, baby! :D


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